Suicide Bomber Targets Vice-President Cheney

A suicide bomber killed 14 people outside a U.S. air base in Afghanistan, in what appears to have been an attack targeting Vice-President Cheney.

A suicide bomber attacked the entrance to the main U.S. military base in Afghanistan Tuesday during a visit by Vice President Dick Cheney, killing at least 14 people and wounding a dozen more. The Taliban claimed responsibility and said Cheney was the target.

Cheney’s spokeswoman said he was fine, and the vice president later met with President Hamid Karzai in the capital, Kabul, before leaving the country.

[…]

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.”

It appears that Cheney was never seriously threatened, as the suicide bomber wasn’t able to even get onto the base and chose to attack the local population, instead. Still, this attack goes to demonstrate the very serious problem of the resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan. Suicide bombings were virtually unknown in Afghanistan until last year, and the numbers keep going up.

FILED UNDER: Asia, National Security, Terrorism, World Politics, , , , , , ,
Alex Knapp
About Alex Knapp
Alex Knapp is Associate Editor at Forbes for science and games. He was a longtime blogger elsewhere before joining the OTB team in June 2005 and contributed some 700 posts through January 2013. Follow him on Twitter @TheAlexKnapp.

Comments

  1. bindare says:

    “Suicide bombings were virtually unknown in Afghanistan until last year, and the numbers keep going up.”
    When you have a strategy that is working in Iraq why not duplicate it elsewhere? Half or better of US citizens are ready to abandon Iraq because of bombings. Why not a wholesale retreat everywhere. While we’re at it, why not signal Bin Laden that we are ready to convert to Islam now before anyone else gets hurt.

  2. Brian J. says:

    I don’t know that I would call an opponent reduced to suicide bombings as “resurgent.” “Desperate” perhaps.

    But I don’t write the headlines.

  3. Was the bomber actually targeting Cheney? Or was he just targeting the base and coincidentally Cheney happened to be there at the time?

  4. LO says:

    The suicide bombings started after a US ‘agent’ stopped receiving USAID money and denounced Karzai and his family and left.

  5. anjin-san says:

    I am not sure how the Taliban could have possibly been behind this. After all, Bush told us that he destroyed the Taliban way back in 2003. I don’t suppose he could have been:

    A. Lying

    B. Full of it

  6. Pug says:

    When you have a strategy that is working in Iraq why not duplicate it elsewhere?

    For a minute there I thought you were talking about us. Thought you were nuts until I realized is the enemy you’re talking about.

  7. Triumph says:

    Still, this attack goes to demonstrate the very serious problem of the resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan.

    It also demonstrates what a complete fool Cheney is. Remember, he was great supporter of Musharaf’s plan to provide the Taliban a safe haven in Waziristan.

    This has allowed them to re-group and wage brash and deadly attacks such as the one today. Luckily Cheney didn’t have to learn the hard way about his utter incompetence.

  8. Tlaloc says:

    While we’re at it, why not signal Bin Laden that we are ready to convert to Islam now before anyone else gets hurt.

    Good to know that at least one person on the right remembers the entire reason we invaded afghanistan in the first place…

  9. Michael says:

    When you have a strategy that is working in Iraq why not duplicate it elsewhere? Half or better of US citizens are ready to abandon Iraq because of bombings. Why not a wholesale retreat everywhere. While were at it, why not signal Bin Laden that we are ready to convert to Islam now before anyone else gets hurt.

    Or we can deny that suicide bombing is hurting us, our men, and our war effort. Why change course, denial always makes things better.

    I dont know that I would call an opponent reduced to suicide bombings as resurgent. Desperate perhaps.

    Suicide bombings have always been the method of choice for Al Qaeda, because it’s easier and more reliable. In Afghanistan, I don’t think there is much distinction between Taliban and Al Qaeda anymore, if there ever really was.