August 26, 2008
Chief of US Consulate Attacked in Pakistan
Lynne Tracy, the chief officer at the U.S. Consulate in Peshawar was attacked by men described as Taliban gunman yesterday. After stopping the consular vehicle, three men got out of an SUV and opened fire with automatic weapons.
Luckily, Tracy's SUV was armor plated and no one inside the vehicle was hurt. In addition to Tracey, two other consulate employees were in the car.
The chaos from Pakistan's "tribal areas" slowly encroaching on its cities.
The Embassy claims that the mission in Peshawar mostly dealt with humanitarian issues and doling out USAID money for development projects.
Which would be tragic, if true, given that: a) the city is more and more under siege by the Taliban and related groups; b) there are lots of rumors that certain high-level al Qaeda members call the city their home; and c) the Taliban don't really give a damn how much aid we give them.
I hope the mission's Marine contingent is strong enough to do the job of protecting the consulate. They're right smack in the middle of hostile territory.
