The assassination of Mr. Burhanuddin Rabbani is a body blow to the Afghanistan peace process. The killing Sept. 20 demonstrated once again the ability of the enemies of peace in that country to penetrate the inner reaches of government as well as the seemingly implacable opposition of the Taliban to real peace.
The killing is another sign of the possible difficulties awaiting Afghanistan when coalition forces complete their withdrawal from the country two years from now.
Mr. Rabbani, who served as president of Afghanistan from 1992-96, was the leader of Afghanistan's High Peace Council, a 70-member body that included all members of the country's political continuum. It had been set up almost a year ago to try to reach a peace agreement with the various insurgent groups fighting the government in Kabul.