CLOSE ONE FOR THE SECRETARY – AT 9:52 A.M. ET:  Secretary of Defense James Mattis was the apparent target of a Taliban attack during his visit to Afghanistan.  From Daily Mail:

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis was the intended target of a rocket attack near an Afghanistan airport on Wednesday, according to the Taliban.

At least five Afghan civilians were wounded when up to 40 rockets, including 29 rocket-propelled grenades, were fired toward Kabul international airport after Mattis touched down.
Mattis condemned the attack as a 'criminal act by terrorists', adding that it was a 'classic definition of what the Taliban are up to here now'. 

The Taliban claimed responsibility and its spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, tweeted that Mattis's plane had been the target of the attack.

The volley of missiles struck near the military section of the airport, said Afghan interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish.

Danish said Afghan security forces surrounded an area where where they suspected the rockets might have been fired. 

'A search operation is underway in the area by police units,' he said. 

Special forces troops brought the attack under control and three of the people involved were all killed, according to Danish.

The attack came hours after Mattis arrived in the Afghan capital - the first member of Donald Trump's cabinet to visit the war-torn country since his pledge to stay the course in America's longest war.

COMMENT:   This reminds us that we are at war, and that the war can endanger even officials at the highest level. 

September 27,  2017