THE CONFLICT CONTINUES – AT 10:52 A.M. ET:  As we reflect, others fight.  From AP:

KABUL, Afghanistan — Nearly 80 American soldiers were wounded and two Afghan civilians were killed in a Taliban truck bombing targeting an American base in eastern Afghanistan, NATO said Sunday, a stark reminder that the war in Afghanistan still rages 10 years after the Sept. 11 terror attacks against the United States.

The blast, which occurred late Saturday, shaved the facades from shops outside the Combat Outpost Sayed Abad in Wardak province and broke windows in government offices nearby, said Roshana Wardak, a former parliamentarian who runs a clinic in the nearby town of the same name. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

Eight wounded civilians were brought to Wardak's clinic, two of them with wounds serious enough that they were sent to Kabul. She said one 3-year-old girl died of her wounds on the way to the clinic.

The attack was carried out by a Taliban suicide bomber who detonated a large bomb inside a truck carrying firewood, NATO said. It was unclear how many foreign and Afghan soldiers were serving on the base.

COMMENT:  We don't know, of course, whether this attack was timed to coincide with our memorial events here, but the Taliban clearly sent a message that it's still alive and effective. 

There is, by the way, no new information on the alleged terror plot reportedly directed against the United States, and timed for the 9-11 remembrance.  Some intelligence officials are downplaying the reports of the last few days, stressing that they're uncorroborated.  But security forces, especially in New York and Washington, remain on high alert.

September 11, 2011