Seven American troops killed “over there.”
BAGHDAD (AFP) — Seven American soldiers were killed on Thursday when their transport helicopter crashed in southern Iraq, the deadliest such incident in the country for over a year, the US military said.
The CH-47 Chinook went down, killing all on board, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) west of the main southern port city of Basra as it formed part of a four-aircraft convoy flying from Kuwait to the northern city of Balad. […]
Meanwhile, the US military arrested an American soldier serving in Iraq over the killing this week of two comrades, the military said in a separate statement on Thursday.
Staff Sergeant Darris Dawson, 24, and Sergeant Wesley Durbin, 26, were shot dead on Sunday at their patrol base near Iskandariyah, just south of Baghdad, the US military said in a separate statement.
Stuff happens. No one pays attention. Life (for some of us) goes on. For others, there are simply coffins no one is permitted to see, and official visits to loved ones of the recently departed no one wants to receive.
Oh, and where is that WMD hiding, Mr. President?
Meanwhile, what will we do if Bush and Maliki can’t agree on a status of forces agreement? Will we stay or will we go? And will anyone in the media care to report about it?
Ps. My money’s on we stay regardless of any legal authorization from the “sovereign” Iraqi government.
I wish it were not politically impossible for Maliki to say publicly what he really wants and needs.
Side question – the Chinook apparently went down for reasons other than enemy contact, so what the hell is it with these helicopters? Are they that risky to fly? How many casualties have we had with them going down?
Well, they have been operating in desert combat zones for years now. Could be simple wear and tear. But I’m not convinced that this wasn’t the result of an attack by some group. The Pentagon is notorious for denying that their planes and helos have been shot down by enemy fire. Operational security and so forth.
Deserts are hell on engines.
There are a heck of a lot of helicopters flying a lot of hours in tough conditions and copters are very complicated machines.
Domestically there are an alarming amount of Medivac crashes and have been for years
As for the agreement we will be there well past 31 Dec. no matter what. If we chose today to leave, logistically it would likely take 6-12 months to move that much personnel and equipment.
I’m thinking there will be a quick vote in the Iraqi legislature shortly after the election. There is no reason for them to move until they know who they are dealing with going forward. And they know Bush has no leverage to do anything about it.