WASHINGTON – The brazen attack that killed seven CIA employees at a remote outpost in Afghanistan is likely to raise questions about whether the agency could do more to protect its operatives on dangerous assignments.
Lawmakers on Thursday issued their condolences and withheld any judgment. “We owe these brave men and women, and their families who are forever impacted, our deepest appreciation and thanks,” said Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, the House Intelligence Committee chairman who had met with the CIA team on a recent trip to Afghanistan.
Wednesday’s bombing was a devastating blow to the tightknit spy community. Among the seven CIA employees killed was the chief of the CIA post, whom former officials identified as a mother of three. The bombing occurred at a former military base on the edge of Khost city, the capital of Khost province, which borders Pakistan and is a Taliban stronghold.
U.S. officials would not confirm that the bomber had been a member of the Afghan army, leaving open the possibility that the uniform had been stolen.
President Barack Obama and CIA Director Leon Panetta were joined by several leading lawmakers on Thursday in praising agency employees for their work.
In a letter to CIA employees, Obama said their fallen colleagues came from a “long line of patriots” who had helped to keep the nation safe despite grave risks.
Harold E. Brown Jr. of Fairfax, Va., was among the dead, according to his father, Harold E. Brown Sr. The elder Brown said his 37-year-old son, who grew up in Bolton, Mass., served in the Army and worked for the State Department. The CIA did not release information about the victims, citing the sensitivity of their mission and other ongoing operations.
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Associated Press writers Adam Goldman in New York City, and Pamela Hess and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

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WASHINGTON – The suicide bomber who killed seven CIA employees at a remote outpost in southeastern Afghanistan had been invited onto the base and had not been searched, two former U.S. officials told The Associated Press on Thursday
An experienced CIA debriefer came from Kabul for the meeting, suggesting that the purpose was to gain intelligence, the official said.
The former intelligence official and another former official with knowledge of the attack spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
The bombing on Wednesday dealt a blow to the tight-knit spy agency. Among those killed was the chief of the CIA post, whom former officials identified as a mother of three. It also was the single deadliest attack for Americans in Afghanistan since eight soldiers were killed in an insurgent attack on a base in the east on Oct. 3.
President Barack Obama and CIA Director Leon Panetta were joined by several leading lawmakers on Thursday in praising agency employees for their work.
In a letter to CIA employees, Obama said their fallen colleagues came from a “long line of patriots” who had helped to keep the nation safe despite grave risks.
Reyes said the nation owes them “a great debt.”
According to one former agency employee, the death toll represents a significant portion of the CIA’s clandestine force in the region, but is unlikely to cripple the agency because so many of its employees have experience in Afghanistan.
The bigger question for CIA operations will probably be whether the agency moves to tighten safety rules for its employees, the former employee said.

The Taliban claimed responsibility.

Forward Operating Base Chapman used to be a military facility base but was later turned into a CIA base, according to a U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

Only four known CIA operatives have been killed in Afghanistan since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the U.S.

CIA officer Micheal “Mike” Spann was killed in a prison uprising in November 2001. An agency officer died in a training exercise in 2003, and two contractors operating out of a CIA base in Shkin district of Paktika province were killed the same year.

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President Obama is going to send 30 000 more troops to Afghanistan. This is something that I support and have long stated so. However, the part about the deadline is something that confuses me. Is it the goal of the President to exit in 18 months like we did in the surge, or are we going to have to close shop within 18 months?
This is something that is rather complicating as the two scenarios have such different outcomes despite appearing to be similar. If we are going to get the hell out in 18 month regardless of the situation on the ground in Afghanistan, we are in trouble.

The President is going to allow, in his words, “ an unacceptable risk”, to be potentially around in 18 months. That would render all the blood and sacrifice of our troops in the next 18 months as fruitless.If he does that, he is failing America in a very fundamental way.

If this is the case, there is really no hope of extending the stay beyond 2012. If the troops are to draw down by July 2011; it would take 6-10 months for all of them to come home. The added incentive would be that President Obama would be viewed as the person who have brought back all the troops home, something that would go down well with his far left base.

On the other hand, if the President hopes to achieve all goals in 18 months, then that would be a good thing. We would only leave when our objectives in Afghanistan are met. That is a world away from leaving Afghanistan at a certain date by any means necessary.

As Iraq has shown us, it is very possible that we can meet our objectives in 18 months. If we could do it in Iraq, we can do it Afghanistan. This would be something very positive and something that I would support. I also like the idea of a very speedy troop surge. That is something that would be a logistical headache to the Officers and the NCOs, but I think it would boost the troop morale on the ground.

Now I do not know which one of those scenarios is right. The Republicans are claiming that the first scenario is right, while the Democrats are claiming that the second is. The President, in his speech yesterday, went both ways. Is he undecided? I wonder…

There is also the thing about the price of the war. The President has always promised that he would do everything in a deficit neutral manner. So how is he goi9ng to pay for the at least $30 billion that this war would cost? Is he going to go down the path of President Bush and leave the next generation with a $1 trillion dollar war burden? I hope he takes Governor Jesse Ventura idea seriously about a war tax.

I would also want to see do NATO her fair share of work. It is not only the United States that has suffered attacks that were being carried out by Al Qaeda which is supported by the Taliban in Afghanistan. I want to see that they contribute their very small share of 5000 men. I also hope that they go in with the desire to fight and not just be peace keepers, like they have done so many times.

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Yes, my position of the Afghanistan deployment is the opposite as those on the left, but I am willing to listen to their point of view. What I cannot tolerate is when they twist facts about the military to showcase their political point. No one has the right to say that our soldiers are in a abusive relationship in the military!

If you want to know why MSNBC sucks, check this clip out. Initially, everything was okay. Talking about where the Taliban is, how the fighting happens, etc. Then they talk about contractors. I am an old school soldier, (even though I am only 29), I rather let the army take control of army matters rather than civilians. They can cook our food, but they should not do guard duty. Is it expensive to have contractors? Of course, private contractors need to make a profit, so the price would be higher.

Then, Dan Goure came on and he made sense. It is going to take time. But if we can make Afghanistan a democratic states, I think that would be an example for the world to follow. I still have not given up hope yet.

The host, Dylan Ratigan, basically rebutted Goure, by saying that America has already sent a message to the Taliban that we are willing to go to war to defend our country. What a croc! If we leave, we would look weak. Those are the guys that attacked us. They are the enemy damn it! They killed 3000 of our civilians. We should finish them!

Next came Matthew Hoh. He claimed that the “insurgents are the population.” Which hole has this guy been living in? The population is scared of the insurgents. Nobody likes to be forced to feed the Taliban. The problem in Afghanistan is that there is a weak form of central and provincial governments and everything is run by the village elders.

Then Jon Soltz of votevets.org made a good point. He asked where we are going to get the 40 000 trops from when we are already at surge levels. I think that we need find a balance. We got to consider the needs on the ground as well as a budget. I still support the sending of 40 000 troops though. But, I respect the point he made.

Next Ratigan made a comment about active duty personnel in the army. He said that it is the smallest percentage of the US population ever serving the nation. For one, our population has increased. We have newer weapons and technology for unmanned assaults. So it is utterly ridiculous to complain about that percentage.

Another question: Who is going to pay for more troops? Does he know what the debt is? All the while they did not talk about the cost of war. We need an army that is efficient, rather than a big one. And they call themselves a “news” outlet…

Soltz made a similarly good point about PTSD and soldier stress etc. But the host had to spoil it by saying “… How do you make policy when the structure is set up to have both the politicians, the media and everybody else in America as detached from the realities of being a soldier in the American army as possible.”

God damn it! You are the media dip sh**. Why in the world are you detaching us from realities? Why should you care of what another person thinks and do what you are suppose to do : Report the truth. Wasn’t that what you did in CNBC?

Then Matthew Hoh quoted some Sergeant First Class, which I find questionable, saying that being in the Army was like being in an abusive relationship. I may have not been the best soldier in my time or even a good one, but one thing I was was a soldier. We never would betray our army by saying that it put us in an abusive relationship. Never!

It is this that made me flip out. How in the world can they justify what they just said? Abusive relationship? We volunteered in the Army. We knew that we could die anytime and be back at a snap of the army’s finger. It is not an abusive relationship at all! I really find it slanderous. How dare he say that!?

This is the problem with MSNBC. They are so left wing leaning hate mongers that they do not care what they burn to showcase their left leaning credentials. They are the left wing version of FOX News. They are seriously part of the problem!

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