Cheney Stands Up to the Taliban

I think they 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. But it shouldn't affect

our behavior at all.

- Dick Cheney

Man, that sounds pretty brave. "Shouldn't affect our behavior at all"? Hey Dick, it couldn't affect your behaviour more. You zip in and out of places unannounced with even the press corps sworn to the utmost secrecy.

To make a long story short, Cheney had a drive-by visit to Pakistan yesterday where he purportedly chewed out Pervez Musharraf. He left Islamabad for a flight to Kabul where he was to meet Hamid Karzai, possibly to chew him out too. Kabul airport was snowed in so Cheney diverted to the US air base at Bagram.

The Taliban got word that Cheney was at the base and wasted no time getting a suicide bomber to the front gate where he killed an undetermined number of American and coalition soldiers along with some Afghan and Pakistani truckers waiting for clearance to enter the base. Cheney was safely inside the base and was in no danger. After the explosion he was hustled into a bomb shelter so he could think up bold things to say.