Militants Kill 17 Road Wokers in Afghanistan

I. Militants kill 17 road workers in Afghanistan. The International Herald Tribune. 4/8/08

II. A spike in violence from militants has killed 17 people Tuesday in Afghanistan and left 40 people dead in two days. 16 other construction workers were wounded in the attack. Security forces responded to the ambush by killing 7 militants and wounding 12. Insurgency plagues remote areas where building roads is a key part of development. Militants have targeted work crews in attacks. The U.S. has the most troops in the country since the initial invasion in 2001, with 32,000 troops. Democrats in the U.S. Senate have warned the Bush administration that it is pouring resources into Iraq and not committing enough troops or aid money to Afghanistan. "The negligent policies of the last half-decade have permitted Al Qaeda and the Taliban to regenerate and to pose a greater threat to the national security of the United States that at any point since September 11, 2001," said a letter signed by 46 senators. Of the people that signed Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama were included.

III.
a) This article relates to the theme "state-building, expansion, and conflict" because countries including the United States are at war in the Middle East against insurgents. This current war has been occurring for more than 6 years, with thousands dying each year.
b) The current war in the Middle East is due to the plane hijackings on Sept. 11, 2001. The planes hit the World Trade Centers and the Pentagon. Before this though, the WTCs were attacked by terrorists in the 1990s. Ever since the latest attack, the United States has been attempting to solve the problems in the Middle East in order to make the world safer for everyone.
c) The author of the article is unknown, but the article seems biased.
d) Whoever wrote the article clearly is against the insurgency and the policies of the Bush administration. It mentions what's wrong with Bush's policies and includes insight from the Democrats.
e) A point of view missing in the article is that of a Republican who can argue for his cause and explain why what's going wrong (attacks, corruption) is not already stopped.
f) I think that the continuing insurgency is limiting the amount of development that can occur in Afghanistan. Also, Bush needs to provide more aid and troops to Afghanistan, rather than having many of the already large amount of troops in Iraq. It would be great if something could be done to quickly stop the roadside bombings, ambushes and kidnappings.