U.S. Seeks Answers in Missile Attack

[ConcernedCanuk]

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U.S. Seeks Answers in Missile Attack

WASHINGTON — U.S. investigators sought answers today as to why a weapon that Iraqi militants have been using ineffectively for months managed to bring down a Chinook MH-47 helicopter.

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Investigators are looking into the possibility that the craft was either not outfitted with the flares or was not able to deploy them. They are also seeking to determine whether helicopter crews sufficiently altered their flying times and routes to hinder enemy attack.

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The missiles regularly fired at incoming planes in Iraq in recent weeks and months are typically Russian-designed SA-7 Strela portable missiles or similar models. Weighing 30 pounds, they are about 6 feet long and have been easy to smuggle across Iraq's porous borders. They can reach an altitude of 14,000 feet, greater than the normal cruising altitude of a heavily-laden Chinook, and are designed to hone in on the engine heat of an aircraft.

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The Pentagon estimates there are more than 500,000 of the man-portable systems in Iraq, and believes that a considerable number are in the hands of guerrillas in the "Sunni triangle" region west of Baghdad — the approach route for many incoming aircraft.

The threat prompted U.S. officials this summer to offer $500 for any shoulder-fired missile surrendered by residents west of Baghdad. But that is less than the black market rate for the missiles, and the Pentagon will not disclose how many of the weapons it has collected through the program.

Hmmmm - GeeWhiz guys, no time for the WH to be so frikken cheap ?

Long article

- LOTS more at > > > . .

[pinniped]

1. One has to look no further.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/10/14/EDMEYER.DTL