The attempted assassination of Dick Cheney was a 2007

suicide attack A suicide attack (also known by a wide variety of other names, see below) is a deliberate attack in which the perpetrators knowingly sacrifice their own lives as part of the attack. These attacks are a form of murder–suicide that is ofte ...

that killed up to 23 people and injured 20 more at the

Bagram Airfield Bagram Airfield-BAF, also known as Bagram Air Base , is located southeast of Charikar in the Parwan Province of Afghanistan. It is under the Ministry of Defense (Afghanistan), Afghan Ministry of Defense. Sitting on the site of the ancient town ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

, while

Dick Cheney Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American former politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He has been called vice presidency o ...

, then

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest ranking office in the Executive branch of the United States government, executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks f ...

, was visiting. The attack occurred inside one of the security gates surrounding the heavily guarded base 60 km north of

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

. In 2007, Bagram was the main US airbase in Afghanistan.

Events

On February 27, at about 10 am local time, a suicide bomber attacked the outer gate of the base, killing 23 people and injuring at least 20 others. Among the dead were U.S. soldier PFC Daniel Zizumbo, a U.S. contractor; SSG Yoon Jang-ho, a South Korean soldier; and 20 Afghan workers at the base. Vice President Cheney was on the base at the time of the attack, having arrived in Afghanistan the previous day to meet with US Allies. US officials reported that the Vice President was never in danger and was about 1 mile away from the site of the explosion. A purported Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousef Ahmadi, told the Associated Press that the

Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

had advance knowledge of Cheney's visit and Cheney was the intended target—claims that were met with skepticism by US officials. One US spokesman called them "far-fetched" and observed that "the vice president wasn't even supposed to be here overnight, so this would have been a surprise to everybody." Another US spokesman, Lt. Col. David Accetta, reported that the attacker did not attempt to pass any of the U.S.

security checkpoint Civilian checkpoints or security checkpoints are distinguishable from border or frontier checkpoints in that they are erected and enforced within contiguous areas under military or paramilitary control. Civilian checkpoints have been employed w ...

s, but instead detonated himself amongst a group of Afghans. Accetta was quoted as saying "To characterize this as a direct attempt on the life of the vice president is absurd." The bomber was at the first checkpoint when he detonated and the Associated Press was set up already with cameras filming the area on the main road. Later reports released as part of the SIGAR reports revealed that word of Cheney's presence had leaked, and that the bomber had targeted a convoy as it left the base in the belief that Cheney was inside. Cheney had originally intended to depart in a different convoy which was scheduled to depart 30 minutes later. Media sources remarked that this picture of the bombing undermined the skeptical statements of US officials and supported the Taliban claim that the bombing had been a serious attempt on Cheney's life.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheney, Dick, Attempted assassination Attempted assassination 2007 murders in Afghanistan Failed assassination attempts in Asia 2007 in the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Mass murder in 2007 Suicide bombings in Afghanistan Terrorist incidents in Afghanistan in 2007 February 2007 in Afghanistan 21st century in Parwan Province 2007 in American politics Suicide bombings in 2007 Attacks on airbases in Afghanistan Terrorist attacks on airports in Afghanistan 21st-century mass murder in Afghanistan Attacks on military installations in 2007 Anti-American sentiment in Asia Taliban bombings Crime in Parwan Province Airport bombings in Afghanistan 2007 building bombings

Events

See also

References