Burhanuddin Rabbani Assassinated - Was He Afghanistan's Last Hope for Peace?

Burhanuddin Rabbani served as Afghanistan's President from 1992 to 1996, and for a second term in 2001.

President Burhanuddin Rabbani

(KABUL ) - Afghanistan has been rocked by the assassination of former President Burhanuddin Rabbani (Persian: برهان الدين رباني Burhânuddîn Rabbânî), who held the reigns of this country until Kabul was taken by the Taliban in 1996.

Wikipedia explains that Rabbani was killed in a suicide bombing at his home in Kabul on 22 September 2011.

2 Taliban members approached him to offer a hug and detonated their explosives. At least one of them hid the explosives within his turban. The suicide bomber claimed to be a Taliban commander and said he wanted to "discuss peace" with Rabbani.

If these were Taliban forces, they took on the role of coward as did the killers of the great Afghan leader Ahmad Masoud, who was a promising hope in the country's past that was killed by fake journalists carrying a camera that was actually a bomb, just before Sept. 11 2001.

An extremely important figure in Afghan politics, Burhanuddin Rabbani's name is synonymous with the formation of the Mujahideen forces that defeated the Soviet Union during a bloody civil war that began in 1979 and ended ten years later.

Thousands attended this former leader's funeral in Kabul, and the anger of thousands of mourners rose to a feverish pitch, and violence, when supporters started throwing rocks at Afghan government and U.S. cars. Tensions are heightened in Pakistan also according to media reports.

Burhanuddin Rabbani was born in 1940 and served as Afghanistan's President from 1992 to 1996, and for a second term in 2001.

The U.S. government under President Barack Obama has condemned the act, as have several other nations. Some speculate that because of his ethnic background, former President Burhanuddin Rabbani may have been one of the last remaining peace negotiators.

Also from Wikipedia

Rabbani was the leader of Jamiat-e Islami Afghanistan (Islamic Society of Afghanistan) and was one of the earliest founders and movement leaders of the Mujahideen during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the late 1970's. He also served as the political head of the United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan (UIFSA), an alliance of various political groups who fought against Taliban rule in Afghanistan. He served as President from 1992–1996 until he was forced to leave Kabul because of the Taliban takeover of the city. His government was recognized by many countries, as well as the United Nations. He was also the head of Afghanistan National Front (known in the media as United National Front), the largest political opposition to Hamid Karzai's government.

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