# Afghan civilians stop terror attack at U.S. base



## GAP (16 Jan 2007)

Afghan civilians stop terror attack at U.S. base
POSTED: 2229 GMT (0629 HKT), January 16, 2007 
Article Link
KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Two civilians thwarted an attempted terrorist attack Tuesday when a vehicle loaded with explosives attempted to crash through the front gate of a U.S. base in the Afghan capital, according to the U.S. military.

The two men, an interpreter and a security guard, dragged the apparent suicide bomber from the vehicle before he could detonate explosives, said Col. Tom Collins, the chief spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

"I think it's a pretty amazing and heroic event," Collins said.

He said that at about 9 a.m. Tuesday (10:30 p.m. ET Monday) a driver crashed his vehicle into Camp Phoenix, the base where the Afghan National Army and police are trained. The driver reached for what appeared to be a cord to detonate a bomb, he said. 

"Amazingly, a couple of Afghans who just happened to be on the scene there realized what was happening," Collins said.
More on link


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## geo (16 Jan 2007)

Brave men.
Lesser ones would have been looking for that nickle they buried in the sand last week


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## RHFC_piper (16 Jan 2007)

Good on 'em...  Goes to show that not all Afghans are against the US... and maybe some of them actually want peace  :






As a side note: Col. Tom Collins...  hmmm... many jokes spring to mind...  ;D



_Who's the Adj? Capt. Morgan?_

Had to do it... sorry...  ;D


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## Franko (16 Jan 2007)

Now I'm thirsty....       

In all seriousness, just goes to show you that some Afghans want stability.

Well done.

Regards


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## Good2Golf (16 Jan 2007)

Good on them!

I wonder if that was "Rambo" at the front gate?  Guys who know Camp Phoenix will remember "Rambo"....a permanent fixture at the front gate.

G2G


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## CrazyCanuck (16 Jan 2007)

Seemed to say that some honours were being considered, anybody know what these guys would be eligible for?


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## GAP (16 Jan 2007)

Some quiet recognition and maybe a monetary reward, couched in the appropriate language would seem to be in order. It would be a shame for the forces to make a big splash about this and endanger the guys lives through retaliation.


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## CrazyCanuck (17 Jan 2007)

GAP said:
			
		

> ... It would be a shame for the forces to make a big splash about this and endanger the guys lives through retaliation.


good point


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## Tow Tripod (17 Jan 2007)

Iam pretty sure that "Rambo" would be the only civilian security guard that worked the front gate at Phoenix. Good on him.I always wondered what his shifts were because it did not matter when I was going in there or out he was ALWAYS there. A+ for dedication!!!!


TOW TRIPOD


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## Gayson (17 Jan 2007)

To goes to show you,

acts like these only prove that we are making positive changes to the country.


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## Mortar guy (17 Jan 2007)

OK, just to be the Devil's Advocate here  > Maybe we should consider the fact that these two Afghans kicked the snot out of a would-be suicide bomber because they didin't want to be turned into crimson mist and bone chips! Maybe this is more likely than some ideological belief in the inevitable success of democracy, freedom, capitalism, ISAF, the Miss Universe Pageant or anything other than pure survival.

Just a thought.

MG

PS - I hope it was Rambo and I hope he's recognized. What a hard core gate guard that guy was!


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## geo (17 Jan 2007)

MG
when you get down to it, by the time these guys saw the Kamikaze, concluded this was an IED loking for a place to happen & reacted - they could have just as easily done an about face & made everyone eat their dirt as they boogied outa there.

They chose to "charge" and get a handle on things.  Prevent the Kamikaze from going to heaven with all those virgins waiting with his prize.  may he rot in prison for a lifetime & more.


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## Mortar guy (17 Jan 2007)

Geo,

Agreed and I'm not in any way questioning their immense bravery and selflessness. I'm just saying that in situations like that where the "fight or flight" relfex kicks in and the sympathetic nervous system takes over, there is very little chance that either of these guys thought: "I'm doing this in the name of change!!" As Grossman describes, their puppy brains took over and they reacted based almost exclusively on a survival instinct. Now, there are some things that affect whether someone fights or flees including everthing from the proximity of friends/comrades to how much sleep they had the night before. However, what is commonly agreed among psychologists is that higher reasoning does not function in times like this. 

The argument that these men acted because they support the Karzai government or western forces or whatever is an example of an deductive fallacy. Without knowing for sure, we cannot ascribe to these men any lofty motivations.

MG


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## geo (17 Jan 2007)

The answer is easy.... they let their training take over & deliver the fateful blow to the TB Kamikaze

Hard training makes easy(er) fighting


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## Mortar guy (17 Jan 2007)

Exactly! Although I'm not sure how much training Rambo and Dishwallah number 4 have received in takedowns!  ;D

MG


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## geo (17 Jan 2007)

In Afghanistan & after 30 yrs of war.... Life
the School of hard knocks


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