A suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a mosque packed with worshippers in Kohat, Pakistan on Friday, killing at least 21 and wounding over 80 in a coordinated assault that also sent gunmen storming a police counterterrorism compound — and the permanent war class is already warming up the argument for why this requires more American attention and treasure.
The attack targeted a police headquarters housing counterterrorism officers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, roughly 45 miles from the Afghan border. Most of the dead were police officers attending Friday prayers. Gunmen traded fire with police for 20 hours before the standoff ended Saturday, according to local police official Mohammad Sadiq. Eight attackers were killed in the assault.
No group immediately claimed responsibility, though suspicion fell on the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP. Breitbart reported that a group called Ittehadul Mujahideen, linked to TTP, claimed the attack; the three other outlets covering the story made no mention of a claim of responsibility. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari blamed TTP directly, calling their "complete elimination" essential for national security.
Here is what the establishment press won't connect: Washington has poured over $30 billion in aid into Pakistan since 2002 — military assistance, counterterrorism funding, economic support — and the result is a country where police mosques still get car-bombed and 20-hour gun battles unfold in major districts. What exactly did American taxpayers buy? The TTP has only intensified attacks in recent years. A 2023 suicide bombing at a Peshawar police mosque killed 101 people. The trend line goes one direction.
The regional dynamics are a thicket of cross-border militancy, and none of it is America's fight. Pakistan accuses the Afghan Taliban of sheltering TTP leaders. The Afghan Taliban denies it. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid warned Pakistan against launching cross-border strikes in retaliation, threatening immediate counterattacks if they do, according to Breitbart. Turkey and Qatar are mediating. China facilitated peace talks that collapsed. Every regional power is jockeying for position — and Washington's instinct will be to insert itself.
The Los Angeles Times noted that Pakistan targeted alleged TTP hideouts in Afghanistan in 2025, triggering border clashes. That escalation happened on the region's own logic, without American involvement. Good. Let the neighbors sort it.
The bombing in Kohat is a tragedy for the families of the dead. It is not a blank check for the United States. Every dollar spent propping up Pakistan's security apparatus is a dollar not spent on Americans — and after two decades and tens of billions, the security apparatus still can't secure its own police headquarters. The permanent war class will point to this attack and insist stability requires more U.S. commitment. The record says the opposite.
