Couric & Co.
June 9, 2008 2:58 PM

Chants, Grunts Greet Laura Bush in Afghanistan

By
Christine Lagorio
Topics
Field Notes
(AP)
CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller's Reporter's Notebook from his journey with First Lady Laura Bush to Afghanistan details the heavy security and secrecy that shrouded the trip. Despite that, as Knoller writes: "The unspoken fear was that the wife of the U.S. president would be an irresistible target for Taliban and al Qaeda terrorists," nothing of the sort happened. Well, one moment was a little nerve-wracking. Knoller writes:
If there was a moment at which Mrs. Bush appeared in danger of her life, it was her visit to the military base in Bamiyan that is home to a contingent of forces from New Zealand.

They performed a "Haka" warrior's dance, in which they angrily chant, grunt, shake their fists, pound their chests, stick out there tongues and make threatening advances. One soldier approached Mrs. Bush wielding a spear.

Clearly her Secret Service knew what to expect and did nothing to stop the performance, but Mrs. Bush conceded later it looked menacing.
Read his full account of the trip here, or click below to watch a video of the aforementioned encounter.

Interestingly enough, CBS News correspondent Hari Sreenivasan has reported on the Haka, and how it's sweeping the gridiron of American high school football. You can watch his excellent report
here
.



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