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| Iraq |
| Iraqi TV Shows Men Said Downed in Copter |
| 2003-03-24 |
| Well, this sucks... Iraqi television on Monday showed two men said to have been the U.S. crew of an Apache helicopter forced down during heavy fighting the night before in central Iraq. Gen. Tommy Franks, the U.S. war commander, confirmed that one helicopter did not return from its mission and that its two-man crew was missing. The two shown on Iraqi TV wore cream pilot overalls and did not speak to the camera but appeared confused. They turned their heads and looked in different directions as the camera filmed them. Iraq's state television later showed a collection of documents arrayed on the floor. They included what looked like ID cards and a VISA credit card. Iraq claimed Monday that it shot down two Apache helicopters and was holding the pilots prisoner. "A small number of peasants shot down two Apaches," Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf said earlier. "Perhaps we will show pictures of the pilots." Franks denied that a second chopper had been lost, or that any craft had been shot down by farmers. Iraqi state television showed pictures of one Apache helicopter in a grassy field. Men in Arab headdresses holding Kalashnikovs automatic rifles danced around the aircraft. Has it been destroyed yet. Are we concerned about the assholes guarding it? We shouldn't be... The station also aired pictures of two helmets apparently belonging to members of the helicopter's crew, as well as documents and other papers lying on the ground. |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #11 CNN is scrolling that the Pentagon says they scragged the copter. Hopefully before our dancing friends could depart the area. TV is still on for two reasons that I've heard. We have the ability to hijack the channel. And, it's part of the whole normal life for normal Iraqis campaign. |
| Posted by: Chuck 2003-03-24 20:59:45 |
| #10 Rex, just heard on Fox News that the Iraqi tv station or transmitter or both is inside a daycare or hospital-like facility, which is why we haven't taken it out yet. |
| Posted by: Kathy 2003-03-24 19:24:30 |
| #9 JAB / Dishman: Hopin' you're right. I've considered the effect of suddenly showing up on the doorstep of a population that has been consistently told that we're nowhere in the area and then suddenly turn off the lights. It's a trade off and I'm still not sure if we're getting the best part of the deal. |
| Posted by: Rex Mundi 2003-03-24 19:20:31 |
| #8 Methinks it's best to wait until we're close enough and have the correct power connections to simply overpower the station. |
| Posted by: Dishman 2003-03-24 18:59:32 |
| #7 The only reason I think we're leaving the teevee on is that we want to time turning it off to maximize the effect on resistence. Maybe it will coincide with recognizing an alternative government. Let's hope that time comes soon. |
| Posted by: JAB 2003-03-24 18:05:31 |
| #6 Why the hell is Iraq TV still on the air? It's crap like this that has a lot of Iraqis thinking that Saddam is doing just fine. If they think that, they will continue to back him out of fear. I feel this has been a real miscalculation. Please, someone convince me I'm wrong. |
| Posted by: Rex Mundi 2003-03-24 17:27:32 |
| #5 Men in Arab headdresses holding Kalashnikovs automatic rifles danced around the aircraft. And there was something strange about that whole scene. There were two guys in the group wearing the headress of the locals that seemed to be really fat and out of place compared to the other villagers. The first one was doing all the talking and holding the microphone, the other was standing in the backround a bit. The one in the background is the one who came up and started leading the others in the cheer. Oh well, they will all die horrible deaths and hopefully soon. |
| Posted by: g wiz 2003-03-24 17:22:50 |
| #4 Just listened to Jay Levine, Chicago embed with 101st. Asked about morale, said that the 101 troops are completely focused and pissed off that pilots are being shown on TV. I suspect "steely resolve" just got "steelier". |
| Posted by: Capsu78 2003-03-24 17:05:06 |
| #3 I hope to hell they've destroyed it by now. Pray for those crewmen. |
| Posted by: Yosemite Sam 2003-03-24 16:45:21 |
| #2 Why the hell is Iraq TV still on the air? It's crap like this that has a lot of Iraqis thinking that Saddam is doing just fine. If they think that, they will continue to back him out of fear. I feel this has been a real miscalculation. Please, someone convince me I'm wrong. |
| Posted by: Rex Mundi 3/24/2003 5:27:32 PM |
| #1 Men in Arab headdresses holding Kalashnikovs automatic rifles danced around the aircraft. And there was something strange about that whole scene. There were two guys in the group wearing the headress of the locals that seemed to be really fat and out of place compared to the other villagers. The first one was doing all the talking and holding the microphone, the other was standing in the backround a bit. The one in the background is the one who came up and started leading the others in the cheer. Oh well, they will all die horrible deaths and hopefully soon. |
| Posted by: g wiz 3/24/2003 5:22:50 PM |