Posted on 02/27/2007 9:31:14 AM PST by milestogo
Islamabad - A suicide attack at an Afghan air base where US vice-president Dick Cheney was staying shows that the Taliban and al-Qaeda have penetrated local intelligence agencies, analysts and officials said.
The blast early on Tuesday at Bagram air base near Kabul also highlights the increasing sophistication of the extremist outfits as they prepare for a feared spring offensive against Western troops, they said.
The day before the explosion Cheney warned President Pervez Musharraf of neighbouring Pakistan to crack down on militants regrouping in Pakistan's tribal areas to mount attacks across the border and further afield.
"This shows how much the militants have penetrated the intelligence of the Afghan security forces. It is a most shocking attack," retired Pakistani general turned analyst Talat Masood told AFP.
Visit unannounced
Cheney's visits to Pakistan and Afghanistan were unannounced and shrouded in even tighter secrecy than when US President George W Bush travelled to the two countries in March 2006.
Author Ahmed Rashid, who has written a book on the Taliban, said the bombing was a "very provocative" move by the Taliban.
"They were waiting for a high-level visit to carry out an attack. This visit, although highly secretive, was known in circles in Kabul and Islamabad," he said.
A senior Pakistani counter-terrorism official said the "sophisticated" attack "indicates the militants' preparedness and the quality of their intelligence collection in the run-up to the so-called spring offensive".
He added: "They must have had information (a) few days before that the US vice-president would be in town and stay at Bagram. This is not something you can plan with 12 hours notice."
We have a leak. Better patch it quick.
And tell the President to not travel in the mean time.
Wonder if the new york times knew he was going?
How did they know? Dick Cheney has foreign and domestic enemies. They differ only how they use the left hand.
"This visit, although highly secretive, was known in circles in Kabul and Islamabad," he said.":
I call B.S.
The attack was on a 'check point' going in the base and the Taliban didn't announce their 'attack' until a full day AFTER Cheney left.
The NYT probably tipped them off.........
Doogle
No leak. It was lucky timing.
Cheney's last stop was Pakiland,the birthplace of the Taliban.Enough said.
I'd say it depends on how many caches of explosives you have in close proximity to the target, as well as the number of rubes you have who are willingto off themselves. I think a failed attempt that managed to explode within a mile would have been good enough. So that could easily be planned in less than 12 hours - IMHO.
Well, this doesn't surprise me much. I wouldn't be at ALL surprised to find they had a few key 'Rats in their hip pockets.
Utter BS! The media again using the momentum to show us how "sophisticated" and "professional" the Jihadis are!
If anything, the attack shows the marks of an ad-hoc, rushed and unsophisticated plan. They dispatched a rather high-ranking member to the perimeter of the base and killed a dozen civilians. If they are so well prepared and have incredible intelligence, they would have penetrated the base and made provisions arleady in advance.
I'm glad this happened.
One fewer terrorist in the world.
It might be a great concept to announce the Veep's (and possibly other officials) travel plans to give these fools more opportunities to blow themselves up.
You would be surprised at how many State Department people overseas hate Bush and Cheney enough to leak things like this.
We have a bigger enemy that Al Qaeda people and it is long past time to crack down.
Armitage again?
When I first heard on this a.m. radio news about the suicide bomber, my first thought was a leak. Better locate and seal the leak permanently.
I see no conspiracy here.
The whole world knew Cheney was in Islamabad. Look at the map, it doesn't take a genius to figure out his next stop was very likely Bagram. So maybe it was a leak, and maybe it wasn't.
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