If the Air Force takes over in Iraq....

[catnhatnh]

...as the troops withdraw,the only "victories" the insurgents can score over "infidels" and "invaders" will be aircraft shootdowns...and they will seek them....think "infiltrating the wire at airbases with shoulder-fired SAMs and attacking on takeoff when aircraft are most vulnerable. Think of "insurgent" bands massing 3-5 miles from the airbases waiting to snatch hostages from aircrew lucky enough to bail out." These hostages will all be officers and many West Point graduates....I fear we will see some videos far worse than those in the past and a new level of violence.Those pilots had better watch the movie "The Bridges At Toko-ri".....

[enigma000]

1. Assuming the planes are based in Iraq

Have any US fixed wing aircraft been shot down in the last 10 years?

[politicaholic]

2. Or we could build lots of aircraft carriers and set them in the gulf...

and then we could build planes so fast that the chance of hitting them with a shoulder-fired SAM is .001%.

I'll call the military and ask them to get right on it.

[Lexingtonian]

3. gee...

The Special Forces of the world will have a lot of fun testing out their latest shoulder-launched gadgetry. Afghanistan in reverse...the Russians are not going to let the chance to even that score slip by.

I'm morbidly waiting for the day the Green Zone gets infiltrated and shot up, personally. That's so obviously a target and the political damage inflicted on the Occupation and collaborator Iraqis would be so enormous, I wonder why the insurgents have passed it up for so long.

[Jara sang]

4. Iraq is awaiting it's Tet moment.

[enigma000]

9. Easier to kill civilians

Sure the Green Zone is tempting, but nothing guarantees a 100% success rate than a soft target: a school, a mosque, a hospital. Remember, these guys have a date with 72 virgins in that big brothel in the sky so why take the chance of getting wounded in a shootout, captured and sent to Abu Ghraib.

[G_j]

5. did you hear this?

plan to put America's awesome airpower at the disposal of Iraqi commanders

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=5473604&mesg_id=5473604

[Why Syzygy]

6. Have you seen

http://www.fighterpilotfilm.com/
"Fighter Pilot"?

I don't think the 'insurgents' stand a chance.
The scenario from the other thread seems much more likely.

What a screw-up. When will George get tired of being a total FUCKING FAILURE and give up?

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

7. I told one of the techs at work

about this scheme, and the fact that Iraqis could eventually be put in charge of using the planes--he said the whole idea was insane. This is a guy who thinks Terri Shaivo had a viable brain and was "killed", so that gives you an idea where he comes from. If folks like him don't like the idea of planes taking over for troops, I don't see how it will play well with the sheeple.

[donkeyotay]

8. So, we went over there to remove Saddam because of nukes against us

And now we're going to stay and carpet bomb whoever Chalabi tell us to until everyone stops fighting back. So, we did go there to kill Iraqis, lots of Iraqis. How moral - and clever - of us.