Rudy isn’t saying much in the video. His position is accurate enough but certainly not insightful. Thankfully, other statements made on the campaign trail contain more substance:

Campaigning across Florida on Thursday, Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani seized on the assassination of Benazir Bhutto as evidence that terrorism remains a central threat and that he is poised to combat it.

Giuliani said, if elected, he would increase U.S. military presence along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, where terrorists harbor.

“From the outside, the most immediate thing that we could do is to make sure that we have the correct level of military forces in Afghanistan,” he said.

Giuliani said he would also increase the size of the U.S. military, adding 10 more combat brigades to the Army and expanding the Marine Corps from 185,000 to 200,000.

Ultimately, al Qaeda’s safe haven will have to be addressed and Rudy knows that Afghanistan is the foundation for further action.

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James T. Conway said the Marines are ready if needed but he and the SECDEF agreed that it isn’t the best use of their talents:

Being a garrison force is not what the Marine Corps brings to the table, the commandant said. “We’re expeditionary, and we do not get engaged in some of the long-term duties that you see in Germany, or Japan or Korea,” Conway explained. “We are much more mobile than that, and we want to keep that mobility and that flexibility and not get tied down.”

And they still have work to do it Iraq.

Journalists rushed to their computers and cameras to report the deaths of innocent construction workers in Afghanistan. However, they’re not quite as eager to report the fact that the story might not be accurate:

An air strike earlier this week in eastern Afghanistan was based on credible intelligence from multiple sources and by all indications struck its intended targets, the Pentagon’s press secretary told reporters today.

NATO International Security Assistance Force troops used precision-guided munitions in the late Nov. 26 air strike in the mountainous Nuristan province, killing several insurgents, Geoff Morrell said during a Pentagon briefing. Abdullah Jan, the western Nuristan Taliban commander, is believed to be among those killed.

Morrell dismissed press reports that the attack had mistakenly killed civilian construction workers. He noted that the closest known construction site was a kilometer away from the target area and that no structures, vehicles or other construction equipment were anywhere near the impact area.

Sadly, even the VOA ran this headline: Afghan Construction Workers Killed in NATO Air Strike.

Great news out of South Korea:

South Korea’s presidential office said Tuesday that negotiators from the South Korean government and the Taliban reached an agreement to release all of the 19 South Korean hostages still held in Afghanistan.

“The South Korean government welcomes the agreement on the hostage release,” presidential spokesman Cheon Ho-seon said in a press conference.

CNN has more information on the terms of the agreement:

Under the terms of the agreement, South Korea agreed to stick by its previous decision to withdraw its 200 non-combat troops from Afghanistan, which work mostly in an engineering and medical capacity.

In addition, Seoul will halt all Christian missionary work in Afghanistan.

The spokesman said there was no agreement to pay the captors, nor was there any mention of releasing Taliban prisoners — a major demand of the kidnappers.

HowStuffWorks has a cool entry on the Apache. Wikipedia has a nice collection of links as well.

More numbers and sentiments that you won’t hear much about in the mainstream media:

Mr. President, I am here today to once again thank you and the American people for all that you have done for Afghanistan; for our liberation first, and then for our stability and prosperity. We have gone a long way.

I have been here many times before in America, thanking the American people for what they have given to Afghanistan. I have spoken of roads, I have spoken of schools, I have spoken of clinics, I have spoken of health services, I have spoken of education, I have spoken of agriculture, I’ve spoken of lots of achievements. I’ve also had requests for help that you have delivered to us.

But today I’m going to speak about only one achievement that means so much for the Afghan people, and surely to you and the rest of the world. That is that Afghanistan today, with the help that you have provided and our other allies have provided can save, is saving the life of at least 50,000 infants after they are born, and the life of 85,000 children under five.

Mr. President, when you and I begin to think of the mothers who can have their babies safe today, then we know the value and the importance of this achievement. And thank you very, very much for this tremendous help. Afghanistan would have not had 85,000 children living today had you not been there to help us with the rest of the world.

There’s more on our efforts to rebuild Afghanistan here.

There’s no way to verify this claim but it’s interesting:

The Taliban said yesterday it had arrested a close aide to the rebel movement’s slain commander Mullah Dadullah for treachery that led to his killing.

“We have captured the spy who helped US forces kill Mullah Dadullah,” said a Taliban spokesman.

Some poor guy, either hero or scapegoat, is in a lot of trouble.

Surprise visit? I don’t think so:

A suicide bomber killed 19 people and wounded 11 outside the main U.S. military base in Afghanistan on Tuesday during a visit by Vice President Dick Cheney, officials said. The Taliban claimed responsibility and said Cheney was the target.

The blast happened near the first security gate outside the base at Bagram, killing 19 people, said Khoja Mohammad Qasim Sayedi, chief of the province’s public health department. Gov. Abdul Jabar Taqwa said “18 to 20 dead bodies” lay on the ground after the blast.

Someone actually asked me last night if I knew what Dick Cheney was up to. I didn’t (of course) but the Taliban apparently did.

a purported Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousef Ahmadi, said Cheney was the target of the attack.

“We knew that Dick Cheney would be staying inside the base,” Ahmadi told The Associated Press by telephone. “The attacker was trying to reach Cheney.”

Officials say that Cheney was not in the immediate area of the attack.

The Taleban have claimed responsibility for the attack and said that Mr Cheney was their intended target. However, American forces said the explosion was not a threat to the Vice-President, who was about a mile away at the time.

So I guess the question now is how did they know? Was it a tip from our side? Are Afghan nationals in the government or employed around the base responsible? Or did the Taliban observe an increase in activity and pull something together at the last minute? It looks like officials in Pakistan knew about the trip so you have to wonder about that. Just how many people knew about this “surprise” visit?

Liberal blogs and forums are already filling up with comments like Suicide Bomber Misses Cheney…Damnit, Too Bad They Missed Cheney, Cheney Unhurt; World Disappointed., and Maybe Next Time. There’s open regret that Cheney wasn’t killed.

Too bad. Had the lunatic succeeded, he would have been doing us a service. It didn’t seem to bother Cheney much, though. He was actually smiling for photos a bit later on, despite the deaths of and injuries to those who fell in his stead.

These comments have Michelle Malkin (and many reasonable Americans) asking “Which side are they on?” but we know the answer.

The Jawa Report: I’d like to know how the Taliban knew Cheney’s itinerary.

Ankle Biting Pundits: It’s entirely possible if not probable that the MSM will make a bigger deal out of the fact that VP Cheney’s flying around in an airplane named in honor of Strom Thurmond. In any instance, the democrat reaction to this should be interesting. I’m sure they don’t want anything to happen to Cheney……at least not until they impeach him first.

The Truth via Pontifications: The President could get a hang-nail and the Taliban will claim credit for it.

Rhymes With Right: Let this serve as a stark reminder of the nature of those we fight in Afghanistan, Iraq, and around the world. And be aware that many of those opposed to the war are going to reveal their true colors in their response to this attempt on the life of the Vice President.

Captain’s Quarters: The Bush administration sent Cheney along with high-level intelligence officers in order to conduct a presentation of the evidence we have collected of terrorist activity in Waziristan. Reportedly, we identified locations and support networks for al-Qaeda and the Taliban forces that will conduct their spring offensive in the coming weeks. Identification of these sites makes it very difficult for Musharraf to shrug off our warning, as does the high level of the visit. It’s the final warning to get something done, or suffer us getting it done for him.

Clarity & Resolve: Maybe they’ll salvage some points with Allah anyway for spilling so much blood.

Bullwinkle Blog: Had they been successful a bunch of Lefties would have been very happy. Nancy Pelosi probably came closer to orgasm than she has in 30 years when she heard the news.

Reason Magazine: While the fact that the killer didn’t get near his target, this isn’t exactly the sort of report that inspires confidence either

NewsHog: So the big question is - in the middle of a “secrecy-shrouded” trip to the region, who told the Taliban where Cheney would be? The most likely informants would be inside the Musharaff regime or Karzai’s office, surely. Could this be a warning from the ISI after Cheney tried to get tough and threaten Musharaff?

The Moderate Voice: What matters is that five and a half years after the U.S. declared war on the international global jihad and invaded Afghanistan, the Taliban is re-emergent and regaining control of parts of the country, while Al Qaeda has rebuilt its power structure and network of training camps just across the border in Pakistan.

Houston has more to offer than cold margaritas and a hot rap music scene - Topnotch Taliban training grounds for illegal Pakistani “students” for example:

The U.S. Attorney’s office today announced that two Houston men have been indicted on charges that they conspired to aid the Taliban.

Kobie Diallo Williams, also known as Abdul Kabeer and Abdul Kabir, 33, a U.S. citizen and Houston resident, and Adnan Babar Mirza, 29, a Pakistani national who overstayed a student visa, are charged with conspiring to train with firearms with a goal to fight with the Taliban against coalition forces in the Middle East and providing approximately $350 in cash to support terrorist groups.

Mirza is also charged with three violations of federal firearms law. The four count indictment was returned under seal by a Houston grand jury last week and unsealed today after the appearance of both men before a U.S. magistrate judge.

“In this post 9/11 era, threats against our international security efforts are taken most seriously,” said U.S. Attorney DeGabrielle.

“While these subjects did not operate at a high level of sophistication in comparison with the 9/11 hijackers, the expressed goal was to aid the Taliban by training to carry out jihad against coalition troops in the Middle East,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Roderick Beverly.

These two can best be described as not too bright but deadly serious:

The indictment alleges that Williams and Mirza viewed the United States and coalition military forces in Afghanistan and Iraq as invaders. They then agreed in April 2005 that they should travel to the Middle East to fight with the Taliban to engage in battlefield jihad, according to the indictment.

To hone their skills in anticipation for battlefield jihad, the indictment alleges Williams and Mirza agreed to train with firearms at various locations located in Harris and surrounding counties.

Michelle Malkin: “Just doing the job Americans won’t do.” And apparently helping to recruit at least one treasonous American to help him do it.

The description from YouTube:

Footage from Dutch Commandos raiding a suspected IED facilitator in Uruzgan province, Afghanistan. On the way back to base they get ambushed.

Ps. yes there is a American ODA member in the vid, he was attached to the Dutch unit.

It’s a pretty hardcore firefight.