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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (91125)	12/17/2004 3:07:55 PM
From: LindyBill	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793752

Robin Williams Entertains U.S. Troops in Afghanistan Posted by James Joyner at 14:36 Robin Williams entertains U.S. troops in Afghanistan (CNN) Robin Williams poses for pictures with U.S. soldiers at military base at Bagram, north of Kabul.As head of the joint chiefs of staff, Gen. Richard Myers usually doesn't have to take a back seat to anyone -- except when U.S. troops make up the audience and comedian Robin Williams is on stage. American forces serving at Bagram air base got a little early Christmas cheer Thursday as Myers and Williams -- along with football star John Elway, model/sports commentator Leann Tweeden and comedian Blake Clark -- stopped by on a tour of American servicemen serving far from home. The activities got off to a somber start with a groundbreaking ceremony for a coffee shop to be named after Pat Tillman, who quit the NFL to be an Army Ranger and died in a friendly-fire incident April 22. All except Williams wore white hard hats and fatigues as they jointly shoveled spadefuls of dirt with about 100 soldiers taking pictures. Tillman gave up a million-dollar contract and his position as a starting safety for the Arizona Cardinals to enlist after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Elway said he didn't know Tillman, but told the troops: "It had to be a huge thing for Pat to walk away to come over here and join forces with you. I'm totally humbled by the work that you do. "In my mind he's a hero. You're all heroes." Myers said people who claimed that the Afghan people would want American forces to leave quickly had been proven wrong, citing President Hamid Karzai's commitment to a long-term "strategic partnership." The coffee shop "will probably be here some time, even though we may not be here in large numbers." On the walk over to a tent for the day's entertainment, troops sought autographs on paper, hats, dollar bills -- anything that would hold ink -- and photos taken with the visiting celebrities. Many clutched copies of FHM magazine with a scantily Tweeden on the cover. The wolf whistles shrieked as she served as the announcer. *** It was Williams' second trip to Bagram, and he described how conditions have changed. "It's a lot like Palm Springs, except for the mines and the small-weapons fire," he quipped in one of the few lines that can be quoted here. A very decent gesture that I'm sure was appreciated. Williams provides a classic example of it indeed being possible to "support the troops" but oppose the war. outsidethebeltway.com