The Taliban claim they were after United States Vice President Dick Cheney, but they missed their target killing as many as 20, according to an Afghan official. Vice President Cheney was at the U.S. base in Bagram Afghanistan but according to reports is unharmed. NATO says three died, including a U.S. soldier, but AP reporters at the scene saw at least eight bodies. ABCNews
Cheney had been in Pakistan visiting with leaders there about their participation in the war on terror. After the Afghanistan attack, Cheney traveled on to Kabul for a meeting with Afghan President Karzai.
The VP had plane trouble that nearly aborted his original journey, according to MSNBC:
It was supposed to be a surprise trip. And it was, in more ways than Vice President Dick Cheney could have imagined. ...On Sunday, the highly secretive trip was nearly derailed when Cheney'splane reported electrical problems shortly after leaving Australia—tipping news agencies off to a refueling stop in Singapore, a destination well off the route Air Force Two would normally take to get back to Washington. The small group of reporters traveling with Cheney were told of the secret stops more than 24 hours in advance but were warned not to divulge the information, out of concern for Cheney's security, as well as their own.
The VP and his entourage left Sydney on Sunday morning, flying more than seven hours to Singapore. During the flight, his plane experienced what his staff described as a power surge prompting a slew of alarming headlines back in Australia.
The small group of journalists traveling with Cheney were waiting to board the plane en route to Kabul, when sirens suddenly erupted around the Bagram military base. Reporters saw plumes of smoke rise in the distance. A loudspeaker announced that the base was under attack—and Secret Service agents rushed the press to the plane. ...
Instead of heading home, Cheney flew another seven hours to Oman, just across gulf waters from Iran. ...
Early Monday morning, the motorcade ferried Cheney and his entourage back to the airport, where Air Force Two was parked on the Omani Royal airstrip. But instead of boarding his familiar blue and white Boeing C-10, the VP got on a massive military cargo plane usually used to transport presidential vehicles.
Inside the massive fuselage, Cheney was escorted to his private quarters for the day: A silver Airstream trailer parked right in the middle of the cargo hold. Held into place by massive chains, ...
Two hours and 45 minutes later, the plane descended on its first stop, Islamabad, with Cheney's secret still intact.
There, Cheney met for just over two hours with Pakistan President Pervez Musharaf, pressing him to clamp down on militant factions along his country's border with Afghanistan. ...
... When Cheney boarded the plane from the tarmac, he seemed calm and collected, ...
... Cheney was supposed to have had a three-hour visit with Afghan President Hamid Karzai; the visit was cut to just an hour. ...
According to news reports, the bomber struck outside a security gate at Bagram, which is located north of the capital city of Kabul. The bomber was reportedly on foot.
Go read the entire account of Cheney's trip, very interesting details from a reporter's viewpoint. We are all thankful that the Vice President is safe. This incident serves to remind us that the situation in the Middle East must be taken seriously by the United States government. I would love to hear a plan for peace from the newly-elected Democrats.
