At End of Round-The-World Trip, Kerry's Plane Breaks Down in Hawaii.

[elleng]

Source: nyt/reuters

HONOLULU — The globe-trotting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was forced to catch a commercial flight on Thursday after his U.S. Air Force plane encountered technical difficulties before takeoff from Hawaii at the end of a nine-day round-the-world trip.

Kerry was returning to Washington after visiting Afghanistan, Myanmar, Australia and the Solomon Islands when his plane broke down at Hawaii's Hickman Air Force Base.

He had stopped for a day in Hawaii where he delivered a speech on increased U.S. interests in Asia and the Pacific region.

"Finally some frequent flyer miles!" Kerry said on hearing the news that he would have to catch a commercial flight along with his staff and a traveling press corps.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2014/08/14/us/14reuters-usa-kerry-airplane.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=WireFeed&module=pocket-region&region=pocket-region&WT.nav=pocket-region

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Not a bad place to break down!

[Demeter]

1. I just hate when that happens

[George II]

2. This is news?

[YvonneCa]

4. You...

...betcha! .

[JDPriestly]

3. I bet he was just happy to be headed home.

[karynnj]

11. I agree - This has been a very long trip

I think starting in Iraq where he was sent by Obama to try to push the Iraqis to form a unity government -- something that had seemed impossible when he left. (Though Iraq and ISIL are still a daunting mess and the government is not yet formed, I think Obama deserves enormous credit for the calm, focused way he has handled this both diplomatically and militarily.)

I would bet that Kerry is already in Nantucket by now with his family and conveniently near the President and his advisers.

[JDPriestly]

12. Obama's strength is his calm, wise judgment.

That is his gift. And it is amazing that he is so blessed with a personality with such equilibrium. He is the perfect antidote to George W. Bush who was a quixotic, petty, unpredictable and very unbalanced personality from what I could tell.

Obama has done as good a job as could every be expected of bringing peace to a world in turmoil without offending those in the country who want to bring turmoil to those places in the world where peace might at least be possible.

Obama does not get credit for what a great foreign-policy president he is.

Doesn't mean that we do the right thing in every situation. But Obama is way,way better than any president we have had in recent times in that respect.

[pscot]

5. Bummer

I hope he brought his boards

[awoke_in_2003]

6. It is a plot by Obama...

to get Kerry a free Hawaiian vacation

[YvonneCa]

7. Obama has a hand...

...in everything it seems.

[truthisfreedom]

8. Fortuitous that the mechanical breakdown happened on the ground!

Instead of over the water!

[freshwest]

9. Bet he didn't even get to windsurf while he was there:

What a busy life, always on the go.

[DiverDave]

10. Bummer.

NOT HAWAII!!