The Taliban continues to reassert its presence in Afghanistan. "Cheney OK after explosion in Afghanistan," by Alisa Tang for AP, with thanks to Jeffrey Imm:
BAGRAM, Afghanistan - A suicide bomber killed and wounded some two dozen people outside the main U.S. military base in Afghanistan on Tuesday during a visit by Vice President Dick Cheney. The Taliban claimed responsibility and said Cheney was the target.The blast happened outside the base at Bagram, north of the capital, Kabul. Cheney's spokeswoman said he was fine, and the U.S. Embassy said the vice president later met with President Hamid Karzai in Kabul.
There were conflicting reports on the death toll. Provincial Gov. Abdul Jabar Taqwa said 20 people were killed, but NATO said initial reports indicated only three were killed, including a U.S. soldier, a South Korean coalition soldier and a U.S. government contractor whose nationality wasn't immediately known. NATO said 27 people were also wounded.
It was unclear why there was such a large discrepancy in the reports.
Associated Press reporters at the scene said they had seen at least eight dead bodies carried in black body bags and wooden coffins from the base area and into the market area, where hundreds of Afghans had gathered to mourn.
Maj. William Mitchell said it did not appear the explosion was intended as a threat to the vice president. "He wasn't near the site of the explosion," Mitchell said. "He was safely within the base at the time of the explosion."
However, a purported Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousef Ahmadi, said Cheney was the target of the attack.
"We knew that Dick Cheney would be staying inside the base," Ahmadi told AP telephone from an undisclosed location. "The attacker was trying to reach Cheney."
I don't know why in the world these idiots don't like American presence in Afghanistan ? They know they're gonna starve to death if we don't ! Can't they understand, we're cleaning house over there, and just as well get use to it cause we're gonna be there for a very long, long time !
I heard there was a front row ticket stub from the oscars with the remains of the bomber.
....if a suicide bomber can get that close...a team of rocket launchers could get closer....I smell collusion of the indigenous people in the area....
...like the urban ghetto areas in the US, no one moves about without being noticed....
Ahmadi must be killed by the Taliban! He used a telephone-is that not a tool of Satan?
These insane hypocrites are something else-it's almost like having discovered an ancient form of life long thought to be extinct the way these particular crazies act. On the other hand, even primitive humans probably behaved better.
" even primitive humans probably behaved better."
....yes, they did....the primitive humans displayed a respectable social order, a revered family closeness,a love of life, developed abilities to farm and provide food, and communal support for their families and neighbors...all of which are missing in the Islamic order of things...
...and then came Mohammed....ugh...
America communicating weakness and incompetence to the whole world at EVERY turn.
"America communicating weakness and incompetence to the whole world at EVERY turn.
Posted by: Arm A. Geddon "
...and it is getting worse....must be a stupid virus floating around....