*Clearly they meant to kill Pakistani soldiers rather than Pakistani bankers, but a suicide attack on a bank is a remarkable development. Sounds like they were listening to the US Secretary of State when she taunted extremists with being unable to build any prosperity.
*I suppose there's some reasonable prospect that destroying Pakistani banks would actually *increase* Pakistan's prosperity. And given that most Al Qaeda guys are Saudi, you have to wonder if a heap of cash is likely to pacify them.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091102/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan
RAWALPINDI, Pakistan – A suicide bomber killed 35 people outside a bank near Pakistan's capital Monday, as the U.N. said spreading violence has forced it to start pulling out some expatriate staff and suspend long-term development work in areas along the Afghan border.
Islamist insurgents have carried out numerous attacks in Pakistan in recent weeks, killing more than 300 people in retaliation for an army offensive in the Pakistani Taliban's northwest stronghold of South Waziristan. Several U.N. personnel have been among those killed, and the group's decision to suspend development work could imperil Western goals of reducing extremism by improving Pakistan's economy.
Monday's attack in Rawalpindi, a garrison city just a few miles (kilometers) from Islamabad, occurred as many people waited outside the National Bank on a pay day to collect salaries.
The bank is close to the army's headquarters, and a majority of the people waiting in line were from the military, said Mohammad Mushtaq, a soldier wounded in the attack. Militants raided the headquarters last month, a 22-hour standoff that left 23 people dead....
