Taliban Claims Suicide Bomber Tried to Kill Cheney

Feb 27, 08:42 PM

Current Headlines: He was separated from the vice president by three security gates and almost a mile in distance _ but a suicide bomber Tuesday brought home the brutal realities of life in Afghanistan to Dick Cheney.

The bomber blew himself up and killed at least 20 others, including two U.S. soldiers, at the main gate to America's headquarters in Afghanistan.

A resurgent Taliban claimed it was an attempt to assassinate Cheney, a claim scoffed at by U.S. military officials.

But the killer's brazen act was close enough for the vice president to hear, and effective enough to see Cheney moved swiftly to a sandbagged bunker.

"I heard a loud boom," Cheney said. "The Secret Service came in and told me there had been an attack on the main gate."

"They moved me for a relatively brief period of time to one of the bomb shelters nearby," Cheney said. "As the situation settled down and they got a better sense in terms of what was going on, then I went back to my room until it was time to leave."

The attack was startling because the details of Cheney's trip to Pakistan and Afghanistan had been cloaked in secrecy, with only a handful of top-level people in those countries aware of his destinations and schedule.

U.S. military officials, however, dismissed the Taliban's claim that Cheney was targeted. They said the only reason Cheney was still at the base at the time of the attack was because bad weather had prevented him from leaving the night before.

The bomber also failed to get past even the first of three security gates at the base. Bagram Air Base, built by the Soviets during their occupation of Afghanistan, is about 30 miles north of Kabul.

The apparently futile bombing did raise questions, however, about the growing reach of the Taliban and its ability to quickly respond after local news reports noted that Cheney was at Bagram.

In brief remarks after the 10 a.m. attack, Cheney said the blast erupted after he had breakfast with U.S. troops and they saw smoke rising over the main gate.

Most of the dead at the main entrance were Afghan truck drivers who deliver supplies to the base.

Cheney, 66, then went ahead with his schedule and made the brief flight to Kabul, where the tarmac was guarded by U.S. and Afghan troops with weapons drawn.

After meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Cheney said the attack signaled that the Taliban "clearly try to find ways to question the authority of the central government."

"Striking at Bagram with a suicide bomber, I suppose, is one way to do that," he said. "But it shouldn't affect our behavior at all."

American and NATO officials have been asking for additional troops for Afghanistan because a renewed Taliban is expected to launch a powerful offensive when the snow melts this spring.

Cheney also said the attack should send the message to Congress to back off on attempts to put limits on U.S. troops in Iraq, saying such a move would embolden terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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GRAPHIC (from MCT Graphics, 202-383-6064): 20070227 Afghan attack

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