Fourth U.S. Helicopter In Three Weeks Confirmed Down In Iraq

[ewoden]

Fourth U.S. Helicopter In Three Weeks Confirmed Down In Iraq

February 2, 2007 10:45 a.m. EST

Linda Young - All Headline News Staff Writer

Baghdad, Iraq (AHN) - The fourth U.S. helicopter to fall in Iraq in the past three weeks went down early Friday morning near Taji, about 12 miles north of Baghdad, according to an official with Iraq's Interior Ministry.

U.S. military officials have confirmed that a U.S. Apache helicopter went down but have not confirmed the cause or whether there were casualties. Iraqi soldiers, however, have said that the helicopter came under fire from insurgents, according to CNN reports.

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7006340347

[leftofthedial]

1. more good news for Sikorsky

and their owners, The Carlyle Group


American democracy in action!

[TheWraith]

7. Sikorsky doesn't make the Apache; Hughes, McDonnel, and Boeing do. NT.

[leftofthedial]

9. nothing says "helo" like "Sikorsky"

and they all are in bed with the Carlyle Group.

[Beetwasher]

2. New Tactics Or New Weapons

Or both. A very dark development.

[Warren Stupidity]

3. Head out on the highway.

Get your motor runnin'
Head out on the highway
Lookin' for adventure
And whatever comes our way
Yeah Darlin' go make it happen
Take the world in a love embrace
Fire all of your guns at once
And explode into space

Let's get the heck out now.

[brazos121200]

4. I have been amazed over the past several

years that many, many more of our helicopters and planes haven't been shot down in Iraq. Hand held surface to air missiles are prolific and I'm sure could be had by the various insurgent groups with very little trouble. Iran, Syria, or other middle eastern countries would probably be happy to provide them with such weapons.

With three helicopters shot down in recent days, this is a harbinger of worse days ahead for American troops there. Time to bring the troops home before more are shot down.

[maxsolomon]

6. sounds like you don't have the stomach for the fight

remember, al queda can read america's thoughts & are thus emboldened.

:sarcasm:

[AndyTiedye]

10. We May Not Have Enough Helicopters for the Fight At This Rate

[Demeter]

5. Attention BushCheneyCo! This Is a Clue!

Of course, the clueless will never learn....

[Supersedeas]

8. nothing to see here...feed them the latest poll #'s for an election in Nov '08 and call it news

[SquireJons]

11. Oh dear, I can feel them being emboldened.

We must stop this treasonous discussion immediately. Stop thinking too! It's the only way.

[Heidi]

12. Kick. (nt)

[Hissyspit]

13. AP: Another U.S. Helicopter Lost In Iraq

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IRAQ?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=HOME

Feb 3, 4:21 AM EST
Another U.S. Helicopter Lost in Iraq

By BASSEM MROUE
Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- A U.S. Army helicopter crashed Friday in a hail of gunfire north of Baghdad, police and witnesses said - the fourth lost in Iraq in the last two weeks. The U.S. command said two crew members were killed, and the top U.S. general conceded that insurgent ground fire has become more effective.

An al-Qaida-affiliated group claimed responsibility and said its fighters had "new ways" to attack American planes. A brief U.S. military statement gave no reason for the crash and did not identify the type of aircraft. A Pentagon official said it was an Apache attack helicopter, which carries two crew members.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information. Another Apache crashed Sunday during heavy fighting with a Shiite cult near Najaf, also killing two soldiers.

Iraqi police and witnesses said the latest crash occurred about 7:30 a.m. as two Apaches were flying along a well-established air route near Taji, a major U.S. base about 12 miles north of Baghdad.

One helicopter was struck by heavy machine gunfire but continued flying, the witnesses said. The other helicopter banked sharply and flew back toward the source of fire, apparently to attack the target.

MORE

[H2O Man]

14. There was a picture

on page 1 of the NY Times a couple of days ago. It was of a young soldier, feeding his infant son, while his wife watched. This young man was preparing to head to Iraq. I found it a disturbing image: this fellow is being asked to risk his life, and to take others' lives, to protect and promote the lies of George Bush and Dick Cheney.

[LaurenG]

15. Does this make 5 now this week alone?

:cry:

[magellan]

16. And contrary to what BushCo say, it isn't Iran who's funding these new weapons

Iran wouldn't fund al Qaeda affiliates -- al Qaeda are Sunni Wahhabists, and they have their own friends nearby:

Downed Choppers - Saudi Citizens Funding Shoulder Fired Rockets
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=112731&mesg_id=112731

[pampango]

17. At least, this is a case of the "resistance" actually attacking

the occupiers rather than the attacking the civilian victims of the occupation.

[monarch]

18. Are we putting ourselves in position to be soundly defeated

in this "war?" I don't mean simply not that we won't be the "winner" (whatever THAT means), which is where we are right now, I mean throughly and completely defeated. What happens if we throw absolutely everything we've got into Iraq and we still can't achieve whatever "objectives" we supposedly have and are ultimately forced to pull out? What then? If we leave right now, we can at least say that we accomplished what we set out to do. If we're forced out later, we will most definitely be the "loser" in this whole misadventure.