What's new? I'd like to know this too. It seems to be only recently that the insurgents have had so much success shooting down our copters. What's changed? Do they have better weapons now?
Wouldn't doubt if we didn't train someone to shoot better. Any good marksman, with a 30cal are larger rife can bring down a copter every now and then. It's also a matter of knowing where to shoot.
Feb 8, 2007 — BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A helicopter operated by a private security firm came down in Iraq last week, U.S. officials said on Thursday, an incident that marks the sixth downing of a helicopter in three weeks.
Reports of the January 31 incident, in which no one was killed, come a day after seven crew members and passengers aboard a U.S. Marine helicopter were killed when it crashed near Baghdad, possibly after being hit by ground fire.
The U.S. military, concerned that militants have changed tactics or are using more sophisticated weapons, has said it is adjusting its tactics.
I'm not denying there has been a new and tragic rise in downed copters, but I'm not only seeing a new pattern by insurgents, but also by their media allies.
Reporting was contributed by David Cloud in Washington, Ali Adeeb and Qais Mizher in Baghdad and an Iraqi employee of the New York Times.
FYI