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| Iraq |
| Syrian Missle Accident Theory a la Debka |
| 2003-03-25 |
| Interesting theory.... who knows.... may even be true ...Away from the main arena, a small yet illuminating scene played out just across the Iraqi border Monday morning. Syria complained that a stray American missile had struck a bus killing five civilians and injuring ten. According to DEBKAfile’s military sources, the only true fact in this terse account was that the bus was Syrian. The missile was no stray. It was deliberately fired from an F-15 fighter-bomber at a bus carrying armed Palestinian volunteers to join up with Iraqi forces, in order to make sure this was the last such Palestinian group of volunteers for Iraq. That F-15 made a piece of history; it carried out the first American air attack on a combatant Palestinian group. More will certainly be heard of this episode.... |
| Posted by:----------<<<<-- |
| #6 It's coordinating airspace. Intel doesn't have the same priority as tactical or strategic assets, which don't have the Predator's loiter capability. Predators, on the other hand, don't handle explosions nearby very well - tends to upset the guidance. With a sandstorm in progress, and high winds, most of the Predators are probably grounded. We're relying on high-fliers and satellites, which have a rough time seeing through sandstorms. It's not impossible - we have a few tricks we can use - but it's not CAVU conditions, and the intel will be limited. As soon as things start to settle down, Predator will be up again, looking for tracks in all that fresh sand. Bad time to be in Baghdad. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-03-25 14:02:51 |
| #5 Absolutely no disrespect intended, Old Patriot. On NRO, Jed Babbin reported that the Apaches on the raid hadn't been connected to JSTARS, and I (mistakenly) assumed that they just hadn't made priority, so there must be too much going on. I shouldn't assume such things. So now that I'm done chewing on my own ankle, a question: what will it take for airborne intel to be 'where they can do some good'? Is it primarily logistical, airbase sortie schedules, refueling, those sorts of issues? |
| Posted by: matt 2003-03-25 13:21:40 |
| #4 As I told my spouse, why would anyone want to cross the border? The US army has been coming for 6 months, should have left a while ago. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-03-25 12:38:35 |
| #3 "Our airborne intel assets seem a little overtaxed as it is." One of my old bosses is running part of this. I hear from him now and then. The biggest problem for airborne intel assets is the traffic. We have more than enough assets, just having a hard time getting them where they can do some good because of all the other aircraft in the way. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-03-25 12:19:08 |
| #2 I like it...but let the media keep trumpeting the "Great Satan hosed a bus full of parapalegic nuns" story, anything to reduce desert traffic. Our airborne intel assets seem a little overtaxed as it is. |
| Posted by: matt 2003-03-25 11:32:43 |
| #1 Debka is usually best flavored with a lot of salt, but this one rings true |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-03-25 11:16:58 |