Panetta Is Safe After Car Ignites Near His Plane at Afghan Base

[Poll_Blind]

Source: The New York Times

KABUL — An Afghan drove a stolen vehicle on to a runway ramp at a military base in southern Afghanistan and then ran from it ablaze as a plane carrying Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta landed there on Wednesday morning, Pentagon officials said.

Mr. Panetta was not hurt and proceeded with his schedule. The Afghan was being treated for severe burns.

--snip--

In a sign of the nervousness surrounding Mr. Panetta’s trip, the Marines and other troops who were waiting in a tent for the defense secretary to speak were abruptly asked by their commander to get up, place their weapons — M-16 and M-4 automatic rifles and 9-mm pistols — outside the tent and then return unarmed. The commander, Sgt. Maj. Brandon Hall, told reporters he was acting on orders from superiors.

“All I know is, I was told to get the weapons out,” he said. Asked why, he replied, “Somebody got itchy, that’s all I’ve got to say. Somebody got itchy; we just adjust.”


Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/15/world/asia/panetta-visits-afghanistan-following-massacre.html

[Dont call me Shirley]

1. BRING THE TROOPS HOME, END THE WAR!

[razorman]

6. And leave nothing of ours behind for the jihadists to use later.

[Red Mountain]

2. Odd, that

Hopefully they're just trying to control the media image projected and aren't actually worried about somebody fragging the SecDef.

[Yo_Mama]

3. There have been recent incidents in which Afghans working for the coalition side attacked

So after the plane incident, apparently the theory was that Panetta was a target. Panetta was speaking to the entire force, which included Afghans. They wanted to ensure that the Afghans didn't have weapons but they didn't want to have the Afghans being the only ones standing there without weapons. Hardly the message they wanted.

So they had everybody dump their weapons - the concern was not our troops though.

[EFerrari]

4. Amy says that they think the man with the truck was targeting a group of Marines

and not Panetta. Maybe someone thought it was safer to disarm those Marines than risk a real accident.

And, he's died.

[razorman]

7. Apparently, as so often happens, the moron suicide bomber got the 'suicide' part down pat

before getting the 'bomber' part done.

[Comrade Grumpy]

5. I didn't know they were still making Ford Pintos.