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| Iraq |
| US Takes Out Anti-Aircraft Trucks |
| 2007-03-18 |
| U.S. forces in Iraq this week struck a major blow against terrorists by killing a group that was behind the recent string of helicopter shootdowns, according to defense officials. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) patrolling Baghdad discovered that insurgents have built low-tech mobile anti-aircraft units — trucks outfitted with heavy machine guns that are covered with tarpaulins. UAV patrols identified four of the machine gun-equipped trucks that drove through the city and stopped when drivers or gunners heard the sound of an approaching helicopter. The gunners then would uncover the tarp and begin firing before quickly driving away. All four of the trucks recently were tracked down and destroyed by F-16 jet strikes. Knocking the trucks out is viewed as one of the signs of progress being made against the terrorists. At least eight helicopters have been shot down in Iraq since January, and some were hit with shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles. Last month, U.S. military commanders said two or three al Qaeda cells were behind the helicopter attacks. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #3 Taken out by F-16s? While in the city? Seems unlikely - must have been at least out in the weedy 'burbs, like Abu G. or to the southeast. Idea: instead of getting 2-4 of these guys by dropping a small-diameter bomb or Mk 82, wouldn't it have been better to go snatch these guys alive? "Interview" them, see who else is in on the game, roll up the whole network, its money, perhaps grab its foreign advisor if there is one? Hard to imagine we could track to kill, but not to engage on the ground. Somebody edumacate me here. Seems like we almost always go for the remote-control kill, rarely go for root-and-branch work. Part of our whole distance from the battlefield problem. Am I wrong here? I still recall an incident in Mosul back in '05. The US unit there discovered a huge, huge warehouse cache of ordnance, explosives, other goodies. So they destroyed it in place - no mention of nabbing even a single bad guy. A place like that had to be known to, or serviced by, a few people, if not a lot of people. How about doing whatever (booby-trapping, de-mil'ing, etc.) as needed, then stake the place out. Grab somebody. Give them a choice between something very unpleasant and ratting out other people who know about the place - and so on. Hell, our guys are using syndicate-busting software to figure out how to take down some networks - how about a little patience, elbow grease, and guile, instead of the F-16 strike as first (and last) part of our strategy. Keeping in mind, always, that there are no military solutions to |
| Posted by: Verlaine 2007-03-18 23:47 |
| #2 Ya think mebby da debbil is gettin POd at how the muzzies be stinkin' up his neighbo'hood? |
| Posted by: Snish Shock5578 2007-03-18 22:07 |
| #1 buh-bye, thanks for playing! Complimentary home games are not available, sorry. If it feels hot, don't worry, it's only for eternity |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-03-18 21:27 |