First you had the Sea Knight crash - 12 dead. Then the Royal Navy proved their complete inability to lauch 2 Sea Kings from a carrier without them crashing into each other. Another 8 people dead.
Then a GR4 had the misfortune to be mistaken for a MIG by a Patriot missile battery. Granted, of all the Coalition's combat aircraft, the Tornado looks the most MIGgy; even then the more cynical among us (i.e. me) would maybe wonder if the significant factor was that it wasn't an American aircraft they detected.
But then you have today's incident. No news yet of the crew, I hope they're OK. But. . . all this would be comical if it wasn't so tragic. In fact, it's still comical. It transcends even the Gulf War I incident when an MP demonstrated the safety-catch on his sidearm by pointing it at his head and. . . you get the picture.
Add in that guy from the 101st going postal, US and UK patrols wandering off and being ambushed and captured, an Apache being either shot down by farmers or suffering mechanical failure in the heat of battle (which is more embarrassing?), the ITN reporters and the Syrian bus hit by US fire, and I just have to ask - WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?! Didn't they learn anything from 12 years ago?
posted
"The jet fired a high speed anti-radiation missile which damaged the battery's radar before it could launch a missile."
Was the pilot afraid the enemy AA-battery would fire nuclear warheads at him? Isn't that a tad overkill? Or was it incompetence by the reporter and this was an anti-radar missile?
-------------------- "I'm nigh-invulnerable when I'm blasting!" Mel Gibson, X-Men
Registered: Aug 1999
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quote: Then a GR4 had the misfortune to be mistaken for a MIG by a Patriot missile battery. Granted, of all the Coalition's combat aircraft, the Tornado looks the most MIGgy; even then the more cynical among us (i.e. me) would maybe wonder if the significant factor was that it wasn't an American aircraft they detected.
I don't think the Patroits can tell the difference between a jet fighter and a rock, much less between Brittish and American jets.
-------------------- Sparky:: Think! Question Authority, Authoritatively. “Believe nothing of what you hear, and only half of what you see.” EMSparks
Shalamar: To save face, keep lower half shut.
Registered: Jun 1999
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posted
Lucky the Canadians aren't fighting in Iraq, or we'd have wiped them out by now.
Registered: Mar 1999
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Saltah'na
Chinese Canadian, or 75% Commie Bastard.
Member # 33
posted
GWB: "I, uh, hope we did the right thing."
-------------------- "And slowly, you come to realize, it's all as it should be, you can only do so much. If you're game enough, you could place your trust in me. For the love of life, there's a tradeoff, we could lose it all but we'll go down fighting...." - David Sylvian FreeSpace 2, the greatest space sim of all time, now remastered!
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
Why is this here? Its outcome cannot make me happy. Thus, I wield wide-ranging powers to squelch it, lording over my fiefdom in a tyrannical manner.
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
mmmm, RADAR emits radiation, electro-magnetic, which, as it is put out as a signal, would work for homing in on, then I suppose both are correct.
Remember, when someone fires a missile at you it is a big IFF.... bad humor, yes...
The rock would have to be propelled a bit.
Screw Rome, all roads lead to Bagdad.
-------------------- "You are a terrible human, Ritten." Magnus "Urgh, you are a sick sick person..." Austin Powers A leek too, pretty much a negi.....
Registered: Sep 2000
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posted
Latest foul-ups: one Challenger 2 shoots at another, two more British soldiers dead. And reports (as yet unconfirmed) that a 'US missile' has killed 15 people in a Baghdad market.
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Well, it will be, if it was our missile, or SH having his people bomb it, if all the markets are taken out the fruits of war would be gone....
If I don't see a live video of an explosion destroying a 'civilian' target then I have my doubts, which I guess I should, since Saddam is such an honest caring man to all of the people living in Iraq. Considering the source 'we' must habe made a mistake.
-------------------- "You are a terrible human, Ritten." Magnus "Urgh, you are a sick sick person..." Austin Powers A leek too, pretty much a negi.....
Registered: Sep 2000
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posted
And of course telling the media in advance that they needed to be there to cover the tragedy would rather give the game away.
12 years ago there were suggestions that Saddam's minions had faked accidental bombings and murdered innocent people to provide the bodycount. To my knowledge no such a allegations have ever been substantiated despite many high-level Iraqi defections since then.
Would they? Yes. Could they? Yes. Could they do it and get away with it? Probably not. It's not like it's a staged border incident in Germany in 1939. People are more cynical, and mass-media/communications more developed.
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I did not say that I don't believe it, just that I have my doubts. An artillery piece outside the city can be fired in to it, aiming for a general residential area, during an attack. Gee, an explosion during a raid, must have been the Americans. Which would aid SHs goal of getting his people to fight to the death, keeping him in power even half a second longer per life is acceptable to him. Yes, that last bit was going out slightly on to the limb, but not to far.
Now, if a weapon was mis-aimed, or malfunctioned, and the military actually tells anyone that they tracked it and all that, then we can make amends later, as right now it is kind of difficult to do so.
Now, while accidents happen, and we feel bad (believe it or not) when they happen, it does seem that the military is attempting to keep them to a minimum.
-------------------- "You are a terrible human, Ritten." Magnus "Urgh, you are a sick sick person..." Austin Powers A leek too, pretty much a negi.....
Registered: Sep 2000
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