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View Full Version : Islamabad Bomber Targeted U.S. Troops? Killed Two


JustRalph
09-23-2008, 05:11 AM
Why was this not mentioned earlier? Whether it was Marines or Air Force Airmen,,,,,,,,,,,, was this a terror attack on U.S. Troops or not? Nobody seems to know............... I find this odd............? What are we not being told?

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/09/airforce_americans_killed_pakistan_092208mil/

Airman among dead in Pakistan hotel blast
By Bryan Mitchell - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Sep 22, 2008 18:48:34 EDT
At least two U.S. troops died in Sunday’s suicide bombing at a luxury Pakistani hotel popular with foreigners. One of the dead is an Air Force officer; the other has yet to be identified.

The deaths caused confusion as scores of news agencies reported Monday that the two dead were Marines. Some publications reported the bombing was targeting Marines.

Air Force Maj. Rodolfo I. Rodriquez, 34, of El Paso, Texas, died Sept. 20 in Islamabad from injuries sustained in an improvised explosive device attack, according to the Defense Department. Rodriguez served with the 86th Construction and Training Squadron based out of Ramstein Air Base, Germany.

“He was in the area assisting with the training of Pakistani forces,” said Ramstein spokesman Aaron Schoenfeld.

Schoenfeld said at least one other service member died in the attack, but he was unsure what branch of service that person served in. The Corps, however, says no Marines died in the blast.

“We read the same thing first thing today and checked on it. It’s incorrect,” Marine Corps spokesman Capt. Carl Redding said. “There were no Marines killed or injured in connection with the attack in Islamabad this weekend.”

A suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into an upscale Marriott hotel in the capital of Islamabad on Saturday, killing at least 53 and injuring more than 200. The hotel is one of the primary meeting points for foreigners in Pakistan.

In a country accustomed to a rash of suicide bombings in the past several years, the toll of the blast had commentators referring to it as Pakistan’s 9/11.

The blast killed the Czech Ambassador to Pakistan. A handful of news outlets are reporting that up to 30 Marines who allegedly recently stayed in the hotel were the target. The Corps declined to comment on whether Marines stayed on the hotel.

Marine Corps Times counted at least a dozen news agencies from the Middle East, Asia and Europe that had reported on two dead Marines on Monday.

Redding said internal checks by the Corps indicate no Marine Corps security detachment personnel were injured or killed in the bombing. The Corps would not discuss if Marines were recently at the hotel.

“We are not in a position to state whether Marines were staying in or near that site, and we do not discuss living arrangement for Marines assigned to post overseas,” Redding said in an e-mail. “I realize there has been some shoddy reporting, but there is no truth to “two Marines dead” storyline. It is not true.”

Redding said Marine Corps Times was the first outlet to call the Marine Corps to confirm if Marines died in the attack, despite some reports that the Pentagon had confirmed the two dead Marines.

~more at the link~

Bomber Video
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ddog
09-23-2008, 08:41 AM
what you are not being told is that we are in the process of helping the radicalization of Pak, not that they need anymore help.

what you are not being told is that the actions there do have blow back , think of it what you will.

what you are not being told is that the course we picked from many availabe to us will not and is not working, happy news notwithstanding.

what you are not being told is that we are not viewed anymore as we used to be by large and it seems growing parts of the world and that despite rayguns and heatrays and whatever, those were never what drew people to us.
If we are to try to convince people at the point of a gun that we are right well that won't work well in the medium run.


what you are not being told is beyond detail in this space.

robert99
09-23-2008, 02:48 PM
This ISN report lists the two marines also speculates on reasons for attack.

http://www.isn.ethz.ch/isn/Current-Affairs/Security-Watch/Detail/?ots591=4888CAA0-B3DB-1461-98B9-E20E7B9C13D4&lng=en&id=91803

For any future atrocities the effectiveness of the blast attack may be the most worrying aspect as fortunately several previous incidents have "failed" due to device failure etc. Seems they still can make buildings disappear

"The Interior Ministry is struggling to trace the perpetrators of the suicide blast to tribal areas, while independent experts find strange similarities with the last many terrorist acts. Though the use of aluminium powder is unprecedented, RDX, TNT and C4 have been within terrorists' reach for the last few years."

"The most disturbing aspect of the terrorist attack remains the perpetrators' access to hi-grade explosives and their ability to put them to 'effective' use," says a key official of the Interior Ministry's counter terror division.

Al Queda also now rallying in Yemen right on Saudi borders.
Russian, Chinese and top quality Iranian armaments readily on sale to Taliban and tribal areas.
USA doubling arms exports to Middle East, India , Pakistan which may fall into wrong hands as so often before.

PaceAdvantage
09-23-2008, 06:25 PM
what you are not being told is beyond detail in this space.You know what I am going to ask next, yes?