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| Iraq |
| Video Shows Iraqi Firing at Cargo Plane |
| 2003-11-25 |
| A homemade videotape given to a French journalist showed a man firing a surface-to-air missile at a DHL cargo plane, moments after a U.S. helicopter flew overhead — apparently without noticing him. The tape appeared to record the insurgent operation Saturday in which a missile struck the wing of a DHL cargo plane, forcing the aircraft to make an emergency landing at Baghdad’s airport. It was the first time insurgents struck a civilian plane in Iraq. The U.S. military said there were no injuries to the three-member crew. No statement accompanied the tape, which was given to Sara Daniel, a journalist with the Paris-based magazine Le Nouvel Observateur. Given or shot by one of their stringers? The magazine’s next edition comes out Thursday; Daniel distributed the videotape to other news organizations. Officials at the Pentagon said they had not seen the video and could not comment on it. Memo to Pentagon, turn on CNN/Fox. The videotape showed about a dozen men standing in an open field, several of them wearing checkered headscarves over their faces. A Black Hawk helicopter flew nearby at an altitude of about 350 feet, but appeared not to spot the men. Three cars were parked nearby. One of the men raised a shoulder-fired missile, whose type could not be determined. The gunner aimed and launched the missile at an unseen target. Trailing white smoke, the missile initially climbed almost vertically, then executed a sharp right turn as it gathered speed. Aquired it’s target. The tape continued to roll, but showed the men scrambling to their cars. "Run away!" After a time, the camera was again pointed to the sky as the stricken airliner, trailing flames and smoke, descended toward the airport. No impact is shown. I think we need to start showing our own videos; "Thunder Over Tikrit", "Sunni Showdown", and "Death to Jihadi’s". |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #19 Speaking of sniper teams, it appears like Iraqi insurgetn teams include a cameraman. Makes you kind of think twice about the Palestinian cameraman who bought the farm. Or about the role played by al'Arabiya and al'Jazeera. Love to know what format we got that footage in, and what we can tell about the equipment that shot it. I bet there are camera experts that could at least put a "grade" on the lens that shot the video -- consumer, pro, borderline. Maybe even on the original format it was shot with -- Beta, 8mm, DV. Put that information together and you get a feel for who supplied the camera. Oh, and I think Super Hose is RIGHT on the money. All the video and photo coverage of the Palestinians comes from PA-approved "stringers". Those guys know when and where a provocation is going to happen, and where to set up so they're sure to only see the Israeli response. I have no doubt the Iraqi terrorists have a similar setup. (And how many Palestinians were living off Saddam before the war?) |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2003-11-25 8:59:49 PM |
| #18 twice? I haven't thought of him once... |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-11-25 8:38:50 PM |
| #17 Speaking of sniper teams, it appears like Iraqi insurgetn teams include a cameraman. Makes you kind of think twice about the Palestinian cameraman who bought the farm. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2003-11-25 8:37:22 PM |
| #16 AS - a non sequitar is something that doesn't follow - logically.... cupcake. Your comments are welcome, the condescension isn't. |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-11-25 8:23:20 PM |
| #15 mojo: whatever, cupcake. |
| Posted by: alaskasoldier 2003-11-25 8:10:59 PM |
| #14 How can the 82nd not be ready for urban and counterguerrilla combat? Posted by: Anonymous 2003-11-25 5:38:48 PM Like the man said, "Political Correctness". I worked in a section at SAC headquarters, commanded by a Captain, with me as NCOIC. I had three subsections under me, each run by a lieutenant. Two of those sections did 10% of the work, while the other section did 80%. Even though the workload was split so crazily, each section had the same number of people in it. I tried to move some of the people from the two over-manned sections to the section that was being overwhelmed with work, and was FIRED for trying to do it. The other two lieutenants were afraid 'they wouldn't look good, and might not get promoted'. Getting promoted, you see, was more important than getting the job done. As far as I can tell, all three made Captain at about the same time, and all three were passed over and mustered out for failing to make Major. But it's that kind of politically correct bullshit that has severely weakened our military, and which needs to be ruthlessly weeded out, not only from our military, but from every aspect of life in this nation. Until we have the courage to do that, we'll continue to see this nation decline. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-11-25 7:48:51 PM |
| #13 The school will actually be training marksmen who will still be in their units ... not snipers in the classic sense. Yeah, but this really makes me wonder if the 82nd even has the leadership to put some OPs out there in hide sights, or put guys in the stormdrains or in cars, on top of roofs or in empty apartments, to watch out for the Bad Guys. The real mission of snipers would be for recon and observation, early warning to the guys in the helicopters and at roadblocks, not necessarily taking a shot and exposing themselves. But where's the capability? How can the 82nd not be ready for urban and counterguerrilla combat? |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-11-25 5:38:48 PM |
| #12 There are remote platforms that enable pretty much any soldier with a basic understanding of windage and drop to have the capability of an expert marksman. Don't need to have just the guys who excel naturally. Seems to me like this is another opportunity for their use. A Barrett .50 cal can be very effective even at long range. Goodbye Mr. Headscarf! |
| Posted by: remote man 2003-11-25 5:24:13 PM |
| #11 The school will actually be training marksmen who will still be in their units, to deal with targets of opportunity, not snipers in the classic sense. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2003-11-25 4:51:15 PM |
| #10 "there are too many high ranking officers in the Army that view killing people as rather distasteful." -You have got to be shitting me bro'. I'm definitely not the sharpest tool in the shed, so that does not compute at all in my little pre-historic alligator brain. So its true that the 82nd did not have any sniper assets w/them at the beginning of this OP? JHC, that's f*cking insane to say the least. Those guys save lives and put a bad hurting on the 'rag-men'. Maybe this war in the long run will get rid of some of the politicians in the ranks and highlight the true warrior-leaders. Patton used to warn about the 'peace-time army', we're not immune from it either. He'd be shooting folks over this, God Bless him. |
| Posted by: Jarhead 2003-11-25 4:37:41 PM |
| #9 Having absolutely no snipers come w/you is pretty much dereliction of duty in my book Unfortunately JH, there are too many high ranking officers in the Army that view killing people as rather distasteful. It's very much about being Politically Correct and not about fighting wars. Usually a good number of troops have to be killed before the generals 'relearn' the lessons of the past. At least, that's my view, admittedly from the bottom of the pyramid. |
| Posted by: commo 2003-11-25 4:22:24 PM |
| #8 I know about the sniper school the Army started. Find it hard to believe the 82nd does not have any organic scout/sniper assets in country. Heck, that's part of our t/o for every infantry battalion. Each Battalion has an entire STA (surveillance & target acquisition)or scout/sniper Platoon as part of its HQ Company or Weapons Company. I thought the Army was trying to make more snipers, cross-train some of the line grunts, and/or refine the skills of the snipers they already have in country. Having absolutely no snipers come w/you is pretty much dereliction of duty in my book. Those boys make a lot of money for a Battalion Commander. |
| Posted by: Jarhead 2003-11-25 4:10:02 PM |
| #7 Did you just figure that out, and that's why you are so proud of yourself to point that out? Read and understand, slick. |
| Posted by: mojo 2003-11-25 3:09:48 PM |
| #6 I would have sniper teams in place for just this sort of event. According to a recent post, the 82nd just recently recieved permission to start a sniper school in theater. In other words, there AREN'T ANY SNIPERS IN THE AIRBORNE INFANTRY TO PUT OUT THERE!!! I'm with you, this is EXACTLY what snipers are for. It's shameful that there aren't even any on hand to do this. We should at least borrow some from the Marines until they come online. |
| Posted by: commo 2003-11-25 3:03:16 PM |
| #5 "He means MISSLE impact, on the plane's enginesounds". Did you just figure that out, and that's why you are so proud of yourself to point that out? "What say we just start shooting anybody wearing that damned paleo scarf?" You have made a non sequitur. Since you obviously need someone to fill in the blanks for you... "weapon + checkered scarf + head shot + 50 cal. + 900 yards = 72 virgins" ROE what they are, I would doubt this would ever occur. If I were the area commander I can assure you I would have sniper teams in place for just this sort of event. |
| Posted by: alaskasoldier 2003-11-25 2:40:01 PM |
| #4 Seems to me that the local air traffic control would be intelligent enough to vary the takeoff patterns in a random fashion, noise complaints be damned. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-11-25 2:27:32 PM |
| #3 He means MISSLE impact, on the plane's engine. What say we just start shooting anybody wearing that damned paleo scarf? |
| Posted by: mojo 2003-11-25 2:03:30 PM |
| #2 checkered scarf + head shot + 50 cal. + 900 yards = 72 virgins |
| Posted by: alaskasoldier 2003-11-25 1:50:16 PM |
| #1 No impact is shown. That's because it LANDED SAFELY. I guess this a-hole wants to imply that every aircraft going into Baghdad is crashing burning. Ignore the truth, what matters is FUD and smearing sh*t on the U.S. Anyone else think it's a 'coincidence' the mutts handed the tape over to a frenchy? |
| Posted by: commo 2003-11-25 1:27:37 PM |