Runway attack was against group of US Marines, not Panetta, who had not arrived yet. The Obama administration's response was to disarm Marines in what is obviously a war zone with so-called 'Afghan partners.'
3/16/12, "Afghan runway incident more serious than first reported, US military says," Wall St. Journal via NY Post
Aboard a US Military aircraft: "The attack on Marines at a military runway in Afghanistan where Defense Secretary Leon Panetta's plane landed was more serious than the Pentagon first acknowledged, based on new disclosures from military officials Friday.
Early Wednesday, an Afghan man drove a stolen SUV toward a group of Marines, including the top regional commander, awaiting the arrival of Panetta, Pentagon press secretary George Little said.
Maj. Gen. Mark Gurganus, the head of Regional Command Southwest, and his British deputy, Brig. Stuart Skeates, had to scramble to avoid being hit by the SUV, defense officials said Friday. The officers were not hurt.
Hypothetically, a defense official said, Panetta could have been in the assailant's path if the SUV had reached the runway just a few minutes later.
The driver crashed into a ditch and was subdued by a military working dog. The assailant, who caught fire in the crash, had a gas can and lighter in the vehicle, but officials were not sure whether he immolated himself on purpose. He suffered third-degree burns over 70 percent of his body and died Thursday morning.
In a news conference not long after the attack, Gurganus made no mention of the attack. He instead said there had been no incidents of violence near the base in recent weeks.
"We have had zero incidents," he said. "We have not so much as had a two-man protest at this point in time."
Although the Afghan man worked as an interpreter on base, officials said they do not believe he was deliberately targeting Panetta or Gurganus.
Officials said they do not yet know the motivation for the attack and did not get a chance to question the Afghan man before he died. The incident came just a few days after 16 Afghan civilians were killed in a shooting rampage by a US soldier in neighboring Kandahar Province."
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News the Obama government keeps to itself about US taxpayer funded murder of our Marines:
US Marine shot in head by Afghan 'partner,' Feb. 1, Obama admin. lied about it at first.
3/16/12, "New case of Aghan killing Marine," AP, John Burns
"An Afghan soldier shot to death a 22-year-old Marine at an outpost in southwestern Afghanistan last month in a previously undisclosed case of apparent Afghan treachery that marked at least the seventh killing of an American military member by his supposed ally in the past six weeks, Marine officials said.
Lance Cpl. Edward J. Dycus of Greenville, Miss., was shot in the back of the head on Feb. 1 while standing guard at an Afghan-U.S. base in the Marja district of Helmand province. The exact circumstances have not been disclosed, but the Dycus family has been notified that he was killed by an Afghan soldier. Marine officials discussed the matter on condition of anonymity because it is still under investigation.
When the Pentagon announced Dycus' death the day after the shooting, it said he died "while conducting combat operations" in Helmand. It made no mention of treachery, which has become a growing problem for U.S. and allied forces as they work closely with Afghan forces to wind down the war."...
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3/16/12, "Marine killed by Afghan soldier last month, officials say," AP via Fox News
"Political pressure" to divert $6 billion US taxpayer dollars every month no matter what.
US under great "political pressure to pump billions into Afghanistan," "subcontractors are impossible to trace." Louis Berger Co. was a big democrat donor for those who assume defense businesses favor the GOP. (Following article won a 2011 Nat. Press Club award).
9/19/10, "U.S. contractor accused of fraud still winning big Afghan projects," McClatchy, Marisa Taylor and Warren P. Stroebel
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