OOPS: American Woman Kidnapped In Kandahar

Somebody's made a big mistake, and we don't even know who it was. To make a long story short, it looks like we're more or less forced to start bombing Afghanistan pretty soon.

Carlotta Gall and Taimoor Shah in the New York Times:

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, — An American woman and her Afghan driver were kidnapped by gunmen in this southern town Saturday morning on her way to work, the provincial governor said.

No one has claimed responsibility for the abduction, he said.

The woman, Sidney Misal, 49, was working for a nongovernmental organization, the Asian Rural Life Development Foundation, and had been living in southern Kandahar since 2002, the governor, Asadullah Khalid, said.

The governor blamed those who were against Afghanistan and its reconstruction for the abduction. “Whoever they are, they’re the enemies of the country, the enemy of Islam and the enemy of Afghanistan,” he said.

The police were searching for Ms. Misal, who was wearing the all-enveloping burqa on her way to work at 8 a.m., Mr. Khalid said.

“This is against Afghan culture to abduct a woman,” Mr. Khalid said. “She trusted the Afghan nation and respected them, that’s why she was traveling without security guards and actually she didn’t ask for security.

“This kind of incident is rare in Kandahar.”

Kidnapping is rare in Kandahar? Well, then, maybe we should invade instead.