THE BAD NEWS...

[dweller]

http://www.deviantart.com/view/18446419/
(i wanted to post the cartoon from this site alone, but since the artist had a message following, from which i've posted a snip below, i decided to just give the link, and post here in Eds...it was dated May 17, 2005)

Today a C-130 Hercules crashed in Iraq. According to witnesses, the wreckage was spread out over a wide area.
Anyone familiar with aircraft accidents will confirm that this indicates that the aircraft came apart high in the air, not on
impact with the ground.
A week ago, a helicopter crashed in Iraq, killing 31 people. Officially blamed on the weather, reports from the crash
site indicate the wreckage covered 2 square kilometers. Again, this strongly suggests that the helicopter came apart
high in the air. The Baghdad meteorological office confirms that the weather was clear with only moderate winds and
no sandstorms at the time of the crash.

The bad news is that the Iraqi people have gained the ability to shoot down our aircraft. The US, having lost control of
the use of the roads in Iraq, resorted (as they did in Veitnam) to trying to run the war from the air. The folly of that
approach was demonstrated in Afghanistan when the Mujahideen learned how to kill the helicopters the Russians
relied on. And now it is happening again.

That's the bad news.

There is more bad news.

dp

[babylonsister]

1. So sad. Not only are we being lied to

(and I'm getting so used to that!), but apparently the lives of these soldiers have no value. How many will it take before we've had enough already?

[indepat]

2. Our strong-willed leaders will likely stay the course, no matter the cost

for the liberty and freedom of the Iraqi people is worth absolutely any cost.

[sam sarrha]

3. I am sure the Stingers are still around that Bush 1 and Rummy gave Iran

during the Iran Contra thing... maybe Chaney was into that too..? if they used those missiles then that is murder..?? Treason..? lets keep the death pentalty for a while...!!:woohoo:

I am sure that if someone found the empty launcher with the serial # on it, and got it to to the proper forign authorities.. we could get rid of the NEOCIN's all at once.. ome big picknick and group hanging.:woohoo: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:

[Shipwack]

4. I don't think it's those Stingers...

I have a feeling that they would be too old to be reliable or even working, plus I don't see them being stored in a proper environment.

I could be wrong; my military electronics/ordnance background doesn't involve portable ground to air stuff.

Which begs the question, where -are- they coming from?

[sam sarrha]

6. they were vacuum packed in inert gas. maybe, maybe not.. actually Russian

stuff is EVERYWHERE and is cheap and effective.. many arsenals were abandoned in the old Soviet Union when the soldiers walked off their jobs and went home when they weren't paid for several months and were starving.. that shit is everywhere.

[Shipwack]

5. 2nd hypothesis...

It could be the result of inadequate maintenance or parts. The vehicles could be getting worn out from constant use in a nasty environment (fine sand and high heat are murder on mechanical stuff). Techs could be rushed, or scheduled maintenance pushed back. Training and parts budgets could have been slashed.

I see these things in the submarine force, and we're not even in a combat environment. I'd hate to to see the pressures these guys are dealing with to "keep it working"

[sam sarrha]

7. the first of these crashes was Video taped, it blew in the air and there

were cheers.. they showed the wreckage and a surviver which they killed.. the media took the article off the air... i only saw it once instead of 24/7/52/12. the first article discussed that it had been taken down by a SAM

it did look like they edited out the firing of the missile

[Old and In the Way]

9. A good one, too.

I suspect that mechanical failure would be another problem to hide from the American people. Much better to blame it on the insurgents. I think equipment deterioration is a real issue and one that could become more apparent as the war extends into the future..

[Captain Hilts]

8. Bush is running the military into the ground

The Bush Administration is running the military into the ground. The airlift system is a classic example. In order to avoid the fatalities of ground convoys, they're using aircraft for short lift capacity. This style of use - even for C-5s - is combining with the sand and heat to run these planes into the ground. Helicopters which fly lower and in the dust have it even worse.

The armor being placed on humvees whose trasmissions and suspensions are not designed for the extra weight also are going to break down.

And Shipwack, don't even get me started on what the administration is doing to the submarine force. The administration is eviscerating the submarine force. I wonder what all those bubbleheads who voted for Bush see when they look in the mirror.

[freesqueeze]

10. Great Toon!

Are you one of the million or so artists using deviantart.com?

[muriel_volestrangler]

11. I think the artist has slightly misunderstood that day's news

Take a look at the Google News search for "hercules iraq" around the date of May 17th.

http://news.google.co.uk/news?hl=en&lr=&tab=wn&ie=UTF-8&scoring=d&q=hercules+iraq&sa=N&start=90

It shows the reports about the inquiry into the crash of the British Hercules, which happened on Jan 30th. Although people said, in January, that this was probably due to a missile or heavy machine gun fire, the inquiry did not leak any results until May.

So, the posters here who imply that the crash has been covered up have further misunderstood - there wasn't a crash on that day, just a leak of the inquiry results - which, understandably, was mainly reported in British (and Australian - there was an Australian on board) newspapers.

Still, it is true that it is possible for Iraqi insurgents to shoot down Hercules aircraft.