SA-7 circa 1968
A US military spokesman has said publicly for the first time that the four US helicopters downed in Iraq in the past two weeks were shot down, confirming earlier witness reports and leaks from within the US military.
Twenty-one US soldiers and private security contractors were killed in the four separate incidents.
On Sunday Major-General William Caldwell said: “There has been an ongoing effort to target our helicopters. We have had four helicopters shot down … It appears they were the result of some kind of ground fire.”
In December, a spokesman for Khudair al-Murshidi, Saddam Hussein’s ousted Baath party, told The Associated Press in Damascus, Syria, that Sunni fighters had received shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles and “we are going to surprise them”, meaning US forces.
So, it shouldn’t have been a surprise, right? What we can expect next is more punk whining about “sophisticated weapons” smuggled in from Iran or Syria.
The SA-7 is as ubiquitous as the RPG-7 on the streets of the Middle East. Has been for decades. Cripes, they’re still being manufactured in Pakistan. Insurgents [pre 9/11] tended to ignore them because they usually got hotter performance from the goodies given away by Uncle Sugar.
Oh my god, military helicopters were shot down in a war zone! Run for the hills!
The U.S. involvement in Iraq is looking more and more like the Soviets failed invasion of Afghanistan in the 80s. The Mujahideen used U.S. supplied Stingers to shoot down Soviet helicopters in that war. Now the Mujahideen is using Russian manufactured SA-18 surface to air missiles to shoot down American helicopters. It seems turnabout is fair play and I sense the Russians are enjoying a little payback. It would seem hypocritical for the U.S. to complain about a tactic we used first.
Hypocrisy has never stopped this administration from doing anything. It won’t stop them from trying to spin this into political advantage either.
#2 — still need to get past Cold War mindsets, dude.
The SA-18 is more expensive [even in Khartoum] than the readily available SA-7. Weighs more, though it’s designed for shoulder firing, too. It’s produced in at least 4 other countries besides Russia — including Pakistan.
Certainly easier for insurgents in the Middle East to truck over a load from Pakistan than, say, Bulgaria, China, Russia or Serbia. Guerilla warfare logistics relies best on the easiest hardware to acquire.
When they say: “private security contractors” what, exactly, are they referring too? Is a private security contractors to a mercenary what a “police action” is to war? And more curious, why is it that the press use the term “private security contractors” too and not call a spade a spade and just say mercenary…. I mean, I can see the military propaganda folks using the term, after all, their job is to spin, but isn’t the presses job to break through the spin?
Sag — my military “experiences” with the Saudis tell me they’re more likely to continue their usual pattern. Give the Sunni insurgents gold and cash. Harder to trace than hardware — and Saudi Arabia has more publicly available gold than any other nation. Even easier to dispense.
#2 – Go out to Barnes & Noble, buy, and than read Steve Coll’s Ghost Wars. It’ll help with the erroneous analogies.
#5 – The private security contractors that were killed were from Blackwater I think, it may have been Aegis. I’m not 100% sure. The helos they fly are AH-6’s,”little birds” as they’re commonly known, and you don’t need an SA-7 to shot down this type of craft especially if its low on the deck.
#6 – One Apache helo was shot down while providing air support for Iraqi Security Forces when they were battling those cultists in Najaf. I don’t think those peeps were supported, funded, or followers of the Kingdom. lAlso, that battle in Najaf I would consider a success, its strange how main stream media missed it. You’re right Saudi Arabia has declared, secretly, war against the influences of Iran throughout the Middle East.
I’m just cringing over the fact that this post refers us to Al Jazeera. While I respect others’ views, I have troubles legitimizing theirs.
#10 — I guess that’s an accurate description of your problem.
#10 Al Jazeera English is where this story is from. It is a better news source than a majority of the big media outlets in the States and Western Europe, exceptions to dvorak.org/blog of course. You should consider buying their monthly online video subscriptions. I have a couple months ago and it is amazing. I swear by it.
#12,
I’m impressed. I would never take you for someone who would read from a source that didn’t have the Bush stamp of approval.
I give you credit for your open mindedness and willingness to use multiple sources.
insurgent SAMs. I wonder if they were provided by members of the Iraqi Parliament?
http://tinyurl.com/2qzbup
ah, democracy!