Government

Rockets Hit U.S. Joint Chief’s Plane in Afghanistan, Taliban Claims Responsibility

Insurgents Hit U.S. Military Chief Martin Dempseys Plane in Bagram, Afghanistan | Taliban Claims Responsibility

(Photo: AP)

(The Blaze/AP) — Insurgents fired rockets into an American base in Afghanistan and damaged the parked plane of the visiting chairman of the U.S. joint chiefs of staff, the U.S.-led military coalition said Tuesday. The general was safe in his quarters at the time but had to take another aircraft out of the country.

The rocket strike that hit the C-17 military transport plane of U.S. Army Gen. Martin Dempsey was yet another propaganda coup for the Taliban after they claimed to have shot down a U.S. helicopter last week.

It also followed a string of disturbing killings of U.S. military trainers by their Afghan partners or militants dressed in Afghan uniform.

ABC News added:

Nineteen U.S. troops and one aid worker have been killed in Taliban attacks in the past two weeks, nine of them shot to death in cold blood by rogue Afghan soldiers or policemen.

At least 36 foreign troops have been killed this year in “green-on-blue” attacks. The Taliban often claim responsibility for the attacks, and a recent video produced by their multimedia wing showed a rogue Afghan soldier receiving a hero’s welcome after killing two U.S. soldiers.

In this case, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack, which took place late Monday night at the Bagram Air Field outside Kabul, saying Dempsey’s plane was targeted by insurgents “using exact information” about where it would be.

Two maintenance workers were slightly injured by shrapnel from the two rockets fired into, coalition spokesman Jamie Graybeal said.

However, Dempsey “was nowhere near” the plane when the rockets hit near where the aircraft was parked, the spokesman added.

Dempsey finished his mission in Afghanistan and had left by Tuesday morning on a different plane, said Graybeal. A helicopter on the base was also damaged in the attack, according to NATO.

“Because there was some damage to the exterior of the aircraft, Gen. Dempsey left Afghanistan on a different C-17,” Pentagon spokeswoman Maj. Cathy Wilkinson.

Graybeal cast doubt on the idea that Dempsey’s plane may have been hit by any precision attack. He said that insurgent rocket and mortar attacks are “not infrequent” at Bagram and that such fire most often comes from so far away that it’s virtually impossible to hit specific targets.

ABC has more information on Dempsey’s trip:

Insurgents Hit U.S. Military Chief Martin Dempseys Plane in Bagram, Afghanistan | Taliban Claims Responsibilityvideo platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player

Bagram is a sprawling complex about an hour’s drive north of Kabul that usually serves as the first point of entrance for U.S. officials visiting the country. It is the hub for military operations in the east of the country and the largest U.S. base in Afghanistan.

Dempsey was in Afghanistan to discuss the state of the war after a particularly deadly few weeks for Americans in the more than 10-year-old war as international forces begin drawing down.

He and the chief of U.S. Central Command, Marine Gen. James R. Mattis, met with NATO and U.S. Afghan commander Gen. John Allen in Kabul and also with a number of senior Afghan and coalition leaders.

Among the topics was the escalating number of “insider attacks” in which Afghan police or soldiers or militants dressed in Afghan uniform turn their guns on coalition military trainers. Once an anomaly, such attacks have been climbing in recent months. There have been 32 such attacks so far this year, up from 21 for all of 2011, according to NATO.

Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar last week said the insider killings were the result of an insurgent campaign of infiltration, though NATO has said it’s too early to tell if the attacks were related to the insurgency of caused by personal disputes turned deadly.

The Taliban also claimed to have shot down a U.S. military helicopter that crashed during a firefight with insurgents in a remote area of southern Afghanistan on Thursday, killing seven Americans and four Afghans on board in one of the deadliest air disasters of the war.

U.S. officials, however, said initial reports were that enemy fire was not involved in the crash.

Tuesday’s insurgent attack was the second this year to come uncomfortably close to a high-level U.S. official visiting Afghanistan.

In March, an attacker tried to ram a car into a delegation waiting to greet U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta at Bastion Air Field in southern Afghanistan as his C-17 taxied toward the landing ramp. U.S. defense officials said Panetta was never in any danger, but if the attacker had waited just a few more minutes, Panetta’s plane would have been at the ramp.

Comments (27)

  • Harvey1
    Posted on August 22, 2012 at 12:04pm

    Whose idea was it to confirm that the plane was being used by the general?
    Does treason ring a bell?

    Report Post » Harvey1  
  • hempstead1944
    Posted on August 21, 2012 at 1:40pm

    What a pathetic joke. Ever heard any of his interviews? This jerk should resign for being inept, stupid and cowardly………the men he leads are far better than he…….

    Report Post »  
    • lukerw
      Posted on August 21, 2012 at 3:07pm

      T’is… the same… in every Army; in every War!

      Report Post » lukerw  
  • thegreatcarnac
    Posted on August 21, 2012 at 12:32pm

    We should not be in the nation building business unless the nation is ours. The Taliban are in Afghanistan and they need to be killed. We went in and killed a ton of them and then set up a new government. If we need to kill more we should use tactical nukes in the mountains where they hide. These mountains are almost unaccessible and full of deep caves. The taliban could hide in these areas forever and come out and harrass their enemies. They have done that forever also. The use of tactical nukes in these mountains would kill most of them and the radiation would kill the rest. After that event…we should just pack up an leave. It would definitely leave the rest of these muslim radicals wondering if they are in the right business. It would also send a message…‘we are serious and will stop at nothing to destroy you’. A nuke on mecca would also be a message.

    Report Post »  
    • FREEDOMoverFEAR
      Posted on August 21, 2012 at 9:28pm

      Have we won a war since WWII? American’s have lost their gumption. Bring back saturation bombing and we might win another war.

      Report Post » FREEDOMoverFEAR  
  • canada 1958
    Posted on August 21, 2012 at 11:09am

    i say pull all the troups out of there its a wast of good men and women .and while your leaving drop 25 nukes on the desert and we can forget about it for anouther 100 years.

    Report Post »  
  • svan71
    Posted on August 21, 2012 at 10:24am

    I’m sure its a coincidence, along with the chopper carrying seal team 6 members (thanks Joe Biden) going down.

    Report Post » svan71  
    • turkey13
      Posted on August 21, 2012 at 10:49am

      What some Congress folks will do to get their fame before a bunch of news people. Loose lips sink ships and get C-131′s bombed. It will really get bad when these Muslims go to meet their 77 virgins and all that is left is 77 70 years old hookers that look likwe Nancy Polusi or Barbara Boxer! It’s all about PC-PC.

      Report Post »  
    • PATTY HENRY
      Posted on August 21, 2012 at 11:07am

      BRING our MEN AND WOMEN home. Now. Hillary is totally ineffective; Obama is trying to gut America (economy and military) . BRING THEM HOME NOW. OR …move them out of the way, turn the desert into sheets of glass, then bring them home. Since I don’t condone mass murder, our choice in my view is to bring them home. period. Obama didn’t try to win this. He showed weakness on our part at every turn. NO MORE AMERICAN BLOOD. BRING THEM HOME.

      Report Post » PATTY HENRY  
  • DeOppressoLiber
    Posted on August 21, 2012 at 9:57am

    I suggest that the CI folks look for a Pham Xuan An or a Vu Ngoc Nha type in the inner circles.
    http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/864359/Vu-Ngoc-Nha
    http://www.pythiapress.com/wartales/spy.htm

    Also YouTube him and watch the series Legend Of Intelligence General Pham Xuan An

    Report Post »  
  • Centralsville
    Posted on August 21, 2012 at 9:36am

    You can’t win a war when your goal is nation building and you have to be careful not to kill too many people and destroy too much property. You can’t created a decent democratic government with minority rights in a Muslim country.

    Report Post »  
  • EqualJustice
    Posted on August 21, 2012 at 9:31am

    Thse SILENCE from the liberals on Obama’s war is deafening, isn’t it? WHERE are all the cries of “war mongering” now? Where are all the calls for the “casket photos?” What happened to the darlng of the left, Cindy Sheehan? I guess a NOBLE PEACE PRIZE gives you ammunity?

    Report Post » EqualJustice  
  • SocialistSlayer
    Posted on August 21, 2012 at 9:31am

    Another obama failure!

    Report Post » SocialistSlayer  
  • BryanB
    Posted on August 21, 2012 at 8:51am

    One thing is for sure, there are eyes on the inside of the wire……….

    Report Post » BryanB  
  • momrules
    Posted on August 21, 2012 at 8:50am

    I have no doubt it was the Taliban and I have no doubt they have inside information about every move our military makes.
    Bring our military home or let them fight to win this stupid war. Untie their hands Obama. Every dead American soldier is now on your watch.

    Report Post »  
    • The_Jerk
      Posted on August 21, 2012 at 9:22am

      This war would be over had Bush not fought his war for Israel in Iraq.

      Report Post »  
    • Walkabout
      Posted on August 21, 2012 at 6:29pm

      The_Jerk
      You mean the war fought because Iraq violated the armistice they sign after the end of the 1st Gulf war.

      You mean to seize the WMDs that Iraq shipped to Syria that they were not allowed to have.

      You mean the country that attempted to assassinate George H.W. Bush.

      You mean that country that had 500 tons of yellow cake.

      I blame the press 7 the Democrats for the length of the wars more than anything else. Why give up the fight when the F___ercrats are whining about an exit strategy & the press lies about casualties.

      I go to Long War journal to get the truth about drone strikes that the pres lies about.

      Report Post »  
    • Walkabout
      Posted on August 21, 2012 at 6:35pm

      The_Jerk << (???????)

      500 tons of uranium shipped from Iraq, Pentagon says
      July 07, 2008
      http://articles.cnn.com/2008-07-07/us/iraq.uranium_1_yellowcake-uranium-cameco?_s=PM:US

      Report Post »  
    • Walkabout
      Posted on August 21, 2012 at 6:44pm

      The_Jerk

      How did U.N. Weapons inspector, Scott Ritter, 500 tons of yellow cake?

      Did Sadam want to resume enrichment after the U.N. left?

      … crickets…

      Report Post »  
  • barber2
    Posted on August 21, 2012 at 8:47am

    Gosh do you think all of this uptick in attacks has anything to do with the fact that Obama announced our departure date ? Isn’t that always the smart way to conduct a war ( at tax payers’ expense ) to tell your enemy not only THAT you will be leaving , but WHEN you will be leaving ? Isn’t that old “ transparency” just the best way to win a war ? Did Harry Truman do that ? He was also a Democrat. JFK must also be twirling. Nobama 2012 No Democrats 2012

    Report Post »  
  • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
    Posted on August 21, 2012 at 8:40am

    The question then is simple: Did an insider from the Afghanistan bases betray us again to the Taliban; or did a member of the administration betray us once again – hoping to sacrifice a high level general to ensure that Obama can continue the war as long as he wants?

    Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
    • BryanB
      Posted on August 21, 2012 at 8:55am

      @Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}

      The answer is yes.

      And their building up for a massacre……..

      Report Post » BryanB  
    • RLTW
      Posted on August 21, 2012 at 10:00am

      The question at this point; Is there a combined way for us to truly transition with these people? The answer as stated is NO!

      They know we are living because our failure of a resident gave them the checkout date, the Taliban are now working to ramp up violence and force us into a fighting withdrawal that will make us look weak and them look strong.

      Report Post »  
    • svan71
      Posted on August 21, 2012 at 10:26am

      Perhaps another homosexual 1st is in line to replace him.

      Report Post » svan71  
  • The_Jerk
    Posted on August 21, 2012 at 9:44am

    Here’s a clue. The American military is in a Muslim nation. The military goal has been accomplished. Anywhere else, this is called an occupation. People do not like occupations. It’s not unique to Muslims.

    Report Post »  
  • Walkabout
    Posted on August 21, 2012 at 7:31pm

    As soon as we leave the Taliban will go thru the Afghan National Army like sh_t thru a goose. They will be backed by Pakistan. Those factions of the Taliban that will not follow order will be eliminated.

    The only players who could stop Pakistan are Iran or Russia.

    Karzai does not have the charisma to lead the ANA. Why? He is a freaking plutocrat.

    People have used the term occupation to describe American troops in Korea, Japan & Germany. We have troops in England. How come the stupid @ $$ leftist mo-fos don’t describe U.S. troops in England as an occupation. Seeing we have SOFAs with all those nations, that U.S. troops who commit crimes are judge in local courts & jailed in those countries, It is hardly an occupation. As the left has cried occupation for decades it falls on deaf ears.

    I am all for leaving Afghanistan except for the Tajiks & Hazars. The Pashtuns deserve their fate. If the CIA ‘stole” the money from Karzai’s brother that he stole from U.S. aid to Afghanistan we’ll see how quickly the Gulf states deport the Karzais back to Afghanistan to face the tender mercies of the Taliban.

    Report Post »  

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