Plane Carrying U.S. Lawmakers Comes Under Fire In Iraq
By Logan Murphy Wednesday Aug 29, 2007 8:25pmVia The Guardian:
A military cargo plane carrying three senators and a House member was forced to take evasive maneuvers and dispatch flares to avoid ground fire after taking off from Baghdad on Thursday night.
The lawmakers said their plane, a C-130, was under fire from three rocket-propelled grenades over the course of several minutes as they left for Amman, Jordan.
"It was a scary moment," said Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., who said he had just taken off his body armor when he saw a bright flash outside the window. "Our pilots were terrific. ... They banked in one direction and then banked the other direction, and they set off the flares."
Sens. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and James Inhofe, R-Okla., as well as Rep. Bud Cramer, D-Ala., were also on the plane.
"We were jostled around pretty good," said Cramer, who estimated the plane had ascended to about 6,000 feet. "There were a few minutes there where I wondered: 'Have we been hit? Are we OK?'" Read more...
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There ya go, Strawberry!
By tomorrow, Shelby, Martinez and Inhofe will be reporting the fire as "fireworks by grateful Iraqis thanking us for our liberation."
Waiting for the Fox news spin that will identify the balistics used as being Made In Terroran ;)
hmmm, and how many of these gentlemen are going to proclaim "Serious Progress in Iraq" when they return?
maybe they'll make comparisons between violence in Iraq to a local American town, city, or airport?
"Despite the scare, Shelby, Martinez and Cramer said they believed the recent increase in troop levels has helped stabilize parts of the country."
Oops, there it is.
That's happened to me lots of times flying out of outdoor markets during the summer in Indiana.
Gekke @ 3:
Pffft! Who says they will wait for even a shred of evidence? Look for something like (I will use your headline):
"ballistics used as being Made In Terroran?"
See how that works? Ahhh, the Question Mark: best friend to the consumate, irresponsible propaganda network.
I'm glad to see that everyoe is OK.....great job to the pilots...BUT......how can the repugs say everything is going according to plan now.........Their kinda like a abused spouse.....they just keep on going back for more.....even though they know they shouldn't.
A little taste war and karma for those responsible.
They should stay and work with the Iraq government.
Is the fact that there's not one truly safe place in Iraq after how many years of occupation a sign of progress? Even 5000 feet above Baghdad it is not 100% safe.
The only way a RPG is going to tag a moving C-130 is if the launch is made on the C-130 at takeoff.
Ok, everyone, best behavior, please. Don't give the right wing whiners any ammunition regarding regretting the survival of Inhofe, Shelby, and Martinez. I wouldn't have said anything, but what was that, the asshole flight?
first person to wish the rpg hit the plan has a small one.
getalife @ 9:
Amen. When I saw Inhofe's name I almost wouldn't have been all that ... nah, I won't say it.
They were underfire in Iraq. They are going to use that every chance they get. It'll be in all of there speeches and campaign literature for years to come. They're combat veterans now. They're probably trying to find out who did it right now so they can send them flowers.
CD @ 13:
How did you know I have a small one?? Oh ... that must have been you in the bathroom stall next to me in Minneapolis.
Carmikl @ 15:
Not in the service=not a Veteran least not the kind that can get a bronze star.
Old Billy @ 12:
100% agree, but it is going to be very disgusting if the two Republicans start bleating about how wonderful things are in Iraq after this.
I am sorry to say but I think the best course of action now is to just totally leave. Yes, there will be a bloodbath but can there be any other path to peace in Iraq? At least if we left now, there'd be some sort of social structure in 10-15 years time after the killing ends. If we stay, it only means that the things that need to be done, like restoring power and water, things that will only happen after the power struggle (aka bloodbath) get delayed even longer.
PurplePatriot @ 16:
hey you're the one who poked your small one under the divider. ;)
Hey -- maybe this can be blamed on the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, and give us an excuse to bomb Iran!
Because, as some of these very same politicians that came under fire have been telling us, things are going so much better on the ground in Iraq since the surge starte. So this attack MUST be the result of foreign terrorists! Trying to murder loyal members of the Republican Party, no less!
-- Bokonon
It's a good thing the shooting stopped when it did or they'd have thrown out the Democrat to lighten the load.
Woo Hoo! Now if we can get Olbermann or Stewart to cover it. I'm sure the White House doesn't want this one making the rounds right before there surge 'report' coming due and all. And like I pointed out on Kos, Martinez put his body armor back on....yeah, like that is gonna' help you as you're plummeting from 30,000 feet and about to go into the ground like a fucking dart. Moron.
CD @ 17:
Of course, I was being sarcastic, but they could be up for the Medal of Freedom.
Carmikl @ 23:
+You're right about how they're going to brag about this while campaigning.
For shits sake they got shot at that's not an accomplishment.
CD @ 19:
Hey-he was just trying to pick up a piece of toilet paper with it.
Maybe if they would have been shot down and every one walked away ok they may have gotten the point of Iraq today. Naw, they would still lie. It is fundamentally a part of their nature.
these senators took thier heads out of thier asses long enough to fight for our freedoms , god bless the crap that accumilated in thier shorts!
As far as Fixed News goes,these guys are now all officially "heroes".Guaranteed.
I wonder if it were the weapons they sold to the Sunnis or the missing weapon?
Now the terrorists are going to follow the senators home.
This is five years after the start of the war -- planes can't even take off and land safely out of the main airport. Come on, you Senators. You are morons.
Strawberry @ 22:
That was funny.
Yes, our troops can go back home whenever they want to, and not have to face explosions head-on like you three.
They didn't come under fire, that was candy and flowers they were throwing.
How long before one of these RPg's actually hit the intended target? does a Congressman or woman have to get killed before we actually pull out of there?
Inquiring minds want to know.
It's understandable the congressman were relieved to have survived.
But they shouldn't bitch about their experience, or about the opportunity it provided to take one for the team. Just think how Bush and Cheney might have spun their funeral services.
After all, without the likes of them, where would we be?
Yup, just like any other sunny day in the market in Indiana...
Oh my God. This made me remember WHY it's so important we remove Darth Cheney and the frat boy who would be King from control of our government. Imagine a couple of congressmen and a senator 86ed by a 'Republican Guard' operative.... Maybe another letter to the Honorable gentleman form MI?
But these asshats keep feverishly polishing the turd that is the Iraq occupation. Even if it literally kills them.
Get a brain! MORANS!
Let's watch these Bushwipes try to spin this as "progress"! Hah!
CD @ 13:
If they were democrat congressmen instead, you know what you'd see on right-wing sites and from on-air comments from conservative pundits like Morgan and Mann Coulter (they have already small dicks) .
Wonder if the rugs wer damaged?
I thought it was as safe as an Indiana summer outdoor market. Whatever happened to "Mission Accomplished"?
How far up in the air can you launch an RPG? How hard can it be to secure the end of a runway?
If not for the courage of the fearless aircrew
The Lawmakers would be lost, the Lawmakers would be lost.
I wonder how many RPG's were salvoed at them?
Ahhhhhhhh, the sweet smell of decimated, twisted metal on a warm summer Indiana morning.
This means the surge is working. To have the freedom to pick up an RPG and fire it at aircraft is the definition of liberty to me.
My wife and I recently visited friends in New York City. The pilot had to come in low and hard into LaGuardia in order to avoid surface to air missiles. Apparently, Dominican immigrants have declared hostilities on east Asians.
chopstix @ 11:
Yep. The only aircraft an RPG can take down is a helicopter hovering close to the ground or a blimp... unless you count model airplanes as well.
You won't hear much on the U.S. MSM - it would undermine the "progress" and "corners turned" in Iraq.
stymie @ 42:
I wonder if those Senators know that most of those rugs are made with forced child labor. In India and Pakistan children are actually chained to the looms. They sleep on a mat on the floor and get very little to eat. Those rugs are labor intensive. It might take a child a week to make one. If you can get 5 rugs for $5, then imagine how little was paid for labor. I wonder if Lindsay Graham ever wondered how those rugs could be so cheap?
nifty @ 37:
I've never been to Indiana so I didn't really know any better. I just assumed that there might be an insurrection in Indiana too.
If they want scary, they should try a 15 month stint. How many Congress members have to fly endless in and out of a war zone? Much of it is for a photo-op for their re-elections.
Today I was thinking to myself about the 14 troops that died a couple weeks ago in a helicopter "accident". And no matter what was reported to cause the "accident", it probably wasn't the truth.
Carmikl @ 15:
No they won't.
Those three are the worst reactionary politicians in Congress. They will follow the party line spin and tell their constituents they went and found that everything is getting peachy and dandy in Iraq and its all due to the Presidents surge.
They will not compromise the everything is getting better message by bringing up to their home audience that they were attacked.
veritas @ 40:
Bet ya the repugs will claim they would be dead if it weren't for the surge.
Something stupid like that.
Ruthless People @ 34:
Who knew that 'candy' meant AK-47 and 'flower' meant 'RPG' in Arabic. That was some serious bad luck for us.
What the hell is to be gained by going to Iraq? What new tidbit of knowledge is going to be had that can't be learned by talking to those who have no choice to go? What does a VIP visit do other than endanger a lot of people?
Maybe another letter to the Honorable gentleman form MI?
Nice! Found this waiting in my inbox after invoking Conyers name! It's a sign! Call in Dr. Frist to diagnose a miracle from 300 mi!!!
Dear Gawd:
Please let the pilot be a Yellow Dog Democrat.
Yours truly,
An American Patriot
Maybe the ground fire wasn't from "insurgents."
miss_kitty @ 25:
It wasn't a piece of paper he was trying to "pick up".
StirFry @ 41:
ROTFLMFAO
It's true! it's all true!
Even under fire the "surge" is working......given the circumstances, I wonder how much of Iraq the senators saw to come to that conclusion. It is amazing that when our representatives going on a fact finding mission to Iraq they all come back with the same four worded sentence "The surge is working"... and the rest of the trip is secret with taxpayers footing the bill.
'had just taken off his body armor' and was no doubt sitting on it. i've read that the military guys recommend that. seems you're not in much danger of being struck in the chest-more like in the bottom...sounds funny kind of. like the three stooges getting shot in the ass but i'm thinking that if you get badly shot or shrapneled there you ... well. you know.
CD @ 61:
Yeah! Good! Now who wants ice cream !?
StirFry @ 64:
Save your money and take a Republican out to for
iceass cream on Friday.Considering the week they've had they're going to need it.
these repug assholes were preparing to spin the Iraq story for the wh and they were going to go to the market with a 500 man, 10 helo 10 troopcarrier escort and come back with the "I bought five rugs" story. "Just like Indiana".
NOw they have to come back ad talk about how much 'in control' we are in Iraq. How "the surge is working" so well.. when every knows they are lying.
LibertyLover @ 35:
I hope not, but I do fear that one one of these 'market tours' is going to go very badly".
I think they shoue visit Walter Reade as often as they visit Iraq.
It's Clinton's fault!
Fools on the Hill @ 52:
the stint is up to 18 months. A cousin of mine is on his fourth stint, three in Afghanistan and this one in Iraq. he'll be there for another 14 months. May be home by christmas 2008. maybe. Yes, these schlubbs should do on whole stint. For sure.
CD @ 13:
----ha ha! i have a small one ;)
Iraq? Oh! It was a wonderful trip! I bought three rugs and a bobble head Maliki while we strolled through the market place! We laughed and hugged many Iraqis as they tossed flowers at our feet.
What?
Oh that? We were never in any danger. The pilot was terrific. As I understand it it wasn't friendly fire. It is under investigation and until it is complete all I can tell you is that Baghdad, up until that particualr incident in the air, was and is a lot like many of the cities in my district. Bustling markets and hugging and laughter.
What?
No. Floridians never throw flowers at my feet, too goddamned expensive! Ha! See? I am able to laugh! I'm not shook up at all by the airplane being fired upon...
Jenny'O @ 70:
Coulter? What are you doing here? ;)
sometimes i feel that i wake up into a world of infinite possibilities
WHEN I AWAKE i walk into a particular combination
i was so close...so close to having a dream come true.
ti's bedtime... see ya on the flip side.
Well, I guess now we HAVE to bomb Iran.
Empty @ 4:
That's the first thing that came to my mind. If they come out and start talking about progress and shit....we should just make fun of it. Dont worry though, Mel Martinez will probably come out saying something in the ballpark of: "It felt like flying out of MIA"
That is not a good sign, either the airport is nearly overrun, or the 'insurgents' have Surface to Air Missiles.
Also, how many planes can they possibly be shooting at?
Why that one?
...first person to wish the rpg hit the plane has a small one.
Of course I wouldn't want the RPG to hit the plane, think of the pilot.
I suppose planes flying over Indiana come under fire all the time, too?
JustAGI @ 78:
Only when they go over trailer parks.
PurplePatriot @ 14:
Why not? They've ordered the death of 655000 Iraqi civilians! Two illegal wars! They're trading in hundreds of thousands of deaths for oil profits, but we can't say some nasty words??
What a fucking castrating PC world we live in. UGH.
JohnnyThief @ 80:
Two illegal wars?
I know one of them is Iraq.
What's the other war?
"nothing to see here"-Ken Pollack and Michael O'Hanlon
Smack_dab @ 56:
ummm... What's to be gained? Well, the Malkin lovers in their parents' basements will think you're really neato.
Freedom flak!
Liberty flares!
Surge 'splosions!
Mission Accomplished ack-ack!
Liberation rockets!
Jesus rocket-grenades!
Maybe they should return the favor of these "terrific pilots" and save their own lives by bringing them home NOW.
Nice, safe place, ya think?
So this is the proof that things have improved in Iraq tremendously. After all it was all Republicans on the plane that was fired at.
When will these idiots stop going on these taxpayer funded junket dog and pony shows. Are the deals on rugs that good?
I can hear them demanding medals from Pelosi for their bravery in Iraq. Being under fire in the line of dog and pony shows in Iraq........................................
Oh, Inhoffe is my state's sinator, don't worry, I know him, he'll just say, oh, they were imagining things, we were never in any danger...It was just a twenty-gun salute or some such blather. He's very good at that.
Could have been "friendly fire".
The Chimp would say this just proves that we need another 20,000+ troops in Iraq.
BillD @ 90:
How many C-130's do the insurgents have? There's nothing airborne but coalition craft.
Those were not RPG's IMO. We'll see.
slippytoad @ 39:
Hey slippytoad-
While I wholeheartedly agree with your opening statement, I must respectfully reject the request put forth in your conclusion. You see, I already have a brain. And no, you can't borrow it...
Sincerely,
James MORAN
Austin, TX
US military "smart bombs" using these guys as target practice.....at least our allies will know they aren't the only ones we shoot at...but damn...they missed....oh well, maybe next photo-op time
From Murphy's Laws of Combat: When you secure the area, make sure you tell the enemy.
But, if a partially-completed goal is the same as a fully-completed goal (per the Pentagon's 'suggestions' on the GAO report) ... then the plane was shot down.
RPG... Standard range of 50 meters (75 feet), can reach 150-300 meters (225-450 feet) in skilled hands, indirect fire is limited to a 4.5 second self destruct timer! As found in Wikipedia.
Wow you mean the terrorists can get within 450 feet of a aircraft taking off! Is anyone guarding the airport!
What the hell is to be gained by going to Iraq? What new tidbit of knowledge is going to be had that can't be learned by talking to those who have no choice to go? What does a VIP visit do other than endanger a lot of people?
think how much power it wields when in the next election they are able to ask of their opponent, "have you been there? well, i just returned and i saw first hand..." their act grows so old.
also saw one of the ads put out yesterday promoting the war and featuring a young soldier who had survived a humvee detonation but was severely mangled: his statement, yhou wuld think because i was crippled that i would be against the war in iraq. well, i'm not. we're serving a pupose there and to leave now would be detrimental to that purpose." boy has the right wing done a job on our military. he sounded an awful lot like brittany spears clicking her gum and stating, "well, he is the president, we must follow where he leads." or words to that effect. Or the 17 year old beauty contestant who was asked why she felt 20 percent of students asked could not identify the US on a map. her reply, "we need to help the people of south africa get maps so they can identify geographical locations. God are we that stupid.
I bet Inhofe changed his underwear ten times before got back. And I bet he will be the first one to say he walked the markets and bought 10 pairs of underwear. Everything is a as OK as OK>
Inhofe and Martinez on board? I guess "Damn they missed!" would be in poor taste, wouldn't it?
You're right. I'll take the high road....
No longer a proud American,
Did you do any follow-up in the statement from Miss South Carolina? Didn't think-so!
As a seriously wounded Marine (Vietnam) I went through stages of grief, anger, the loss of many fellow marines, wanting to go back and be with my buddies! After a few years, of coming to grips with my disabilities,and losses, I finally realized that my Country had fed me a big line of BS! Wait until the present day wounded, have had a few years to reflect on their injuries... etc, and finally realize the line of BS that has been fed them! It's like getting blown up, shot all over again!
I think the whole thing was made up to make the congresscritters look brave.
they dropped down to 6000 ft?....how high were they?......I don't think an RPG can go that high....
someones fibbin
I'm waiting for Inhofe and the rest of the repugs to tell me how much the surge is working.
sure them rounds weren't jst celebratory fire from our troops?
A) I'm glad they weren't hurt - even though I find sightseeing in a war zone to be ghoulish, I'm glad they weren't shot down
B) That said, I hope they pissed their pants and their dry cleaning bills are outrageous
C) Judging by their comments, this little experience won't change their outlook on the war - saying things like "this is something the troops face every day" just attempts to make them look a bit more macho - it doesn't make them stop and think, "holy sheeet I almost got splattered all over the desert; I don't see how the troops can face this every day"
I'm just saying some might call this a life-changing experience is all - but I doubt that will be the case here.
Anybody who voted for this war, or for funding it, or supported it, should be put on those transports and flown over there, and LEFT THERE with some of that inadequate body armor, a poorly armored humvee, and a good supply of Halliburton's tainted water.
What goes around comes around.
bobby hill, it was absolutely difficult to write what i did. having worked with young people in the school system and having actually encouraged many of them to join the military, it's difficult to accept my part in the equation. but if this thing is ever going to stop, all of us need to have the courage to stand and proclaim that it is wrong, we won't be the president's pawns, we won't be his props for his photo ops to promote his ill conceived war. they've been crooked from the start and it pains me to see them use our young people as fodder. how do they "support" our maimed troops once they return. have they voted to upgrade the military hospital system. no, but they continue to wear their yellow ribbons and pull in the maimed to proclaim how they want to go back. sympathies are with the military, not with those who "lead and direct."
Pinky @ 95:
That data is old or incorrect, modern RPGs have greater range and power, even the venerable Soviet RPG7 has a range of 1000 meters.
Please!
First, the plane had been in the air for some 510 mins when the "incident" occurred. By that time, the plane was flying a hell of a lot higher than 6k feet and well above the range of any RPGs! (I seriously doubt that USAF pilots linger around 6k feet over Iraq unless absolutely necessary).
Second, the military was unaware that a plane carrying a Congressional delegation had come under fire? Not bloody likely!
Finally, flares would have been of absolutely no use against RPGs which are unguided projectiles and wouldn't have been deployed as a countermeasure to them.
Basically, it sounds like the pilots knew they had a pack of Congressional chicken-hawks on board who had just been drinking administration Kool Aid straight from the trough and decided to shake the assholes around and give them a bit of a scare.
99 Bobby Hill - My thoughts exactly. Today's gung-ho braiwashed kids are going to be whipped again when they find out the truth in a few years. I have a friend who was a Navy pilot in Vietnam. He cracked up killing people & couldn't do it anymore. They tossed him out. Now he's living on disability w/PTSD. Does his best, but that useless war screwed him up, along with many others. Now the Iraq war is producing a whole new generation of the wounded. It's a damn shame.
Sometimes I wonder if the human race has enough gumption to live.
However, I DO have hope! Work and hope.
Grandjester,
You were correct in stating your 1000 yds range, but the effective killing range of the RPG-7 against troops with body armour, is about 150 meters/492 feet. Actually firing at targets over 300 meters is difficult. When used against the Soviets in the 80's, by the Mujaheddin, the effective range used that was 80 meters or less. Maximum firing range is 920 meters or around a 1000 yards.When reaching the maximum yardage, the RPG self explodes. Wikipedia; RPG-7
By now, the Senators are probably telling stories about how a flight of 40 MIGS strafed their Plane, even though it had huge Red Crosses painted all over it!
Aw, too bad, we almost got rid of three obstructionist Republican Senatorial assholes. Let's hear it for the insurgents! Keep practising, Haji, maybe you'll hit the jackpot the next time Cheney does a fly-over.
As for the Democrat from Alabama and any other Democrats that vote with the Repug half-wits, make sure none of them get parachutes or flak jackets on their next trip over beautiful downtown Baghdad. They might be more highly motivated to vote the way the American people want them to vote and get the hell out of there.
Odds are, the plane was never in any danger to begin with. They would have been at altitude within ten to fifteen minutes, unless they were flying lower around 10,000 AGL in which case they would have made altitude even sooner. No RPG made can reach near that altitude. However, the launch sensors on an aircraft can't tell the difference between an RPG and a shoulder fired missile. They pick up on heat blooms detected on the ground. Some idiot may have fired an RPG which would then set off the electronic counter measures (ECM). The crew doesn't know what is being fired at them, they just know that a heat signature has been detected and they have to take appropriate measures. If the ECM was set to automatic then some flares would have popped off without the navigator having to do anything. Yes, it's the nav that sets that up. ECM is about half way up on the right console (worked C-130 maintenance for three years). If it had been some type of radar guided missile then the crew would have known before launch that they were being painted. Radar guided missiles are a whole different ball of wax but the insurgents don't have access to that kind of technology.
Now, if the crew chief had really wanted to improve diplomatic relations with Iraq, all he had to do was lower the ramp and toss the congress critters out. Granted, that sort of thing tends to look bad on your record and doubtless he could have kissed off a firewall 5 on his next EPR but it would have been worth it.
The reichwing will claim the surge is working, and that was just friendly fire.
LOL! Wouldn't it be great if all of them god damned fucking Christian terrorists flying overhead were shot down, captured, put on trial, and executed for their part in this fascist regime's war crime atrocities?
Step #1.
Just more proof the "surge" is working.
If al-Qaeda filled a C 130 with fertilizer we would call it a bomb. When we fill a C 130 with fertilizer we call it a Congressional fact finding mission.
But "progress is being made"....
Come on, this sort of thing happens over Indiana farmers' markets! And I'll bet those congressmen got some good deals on rugs and stuff.
A lot of Iraqis died yesterday, too - so what's news about it? People in a war zone, enemies of the native population, were fired upon. So what!
Congress should be required to live in Iraq until the war is over.
Pinky @ 111:
That's why the U.S. gave Stinger missiles to the Mujaheddin when they were fighting the Soviets.
Empty @ 5:
lol!
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