“Let’s assume all the element of surprise was gone and the big, fat chopper was coming in slowly like a sitting duck for several minutes, the perfect target, again, just like Mogadishu.”
Good assessment for the moment. Maybe further intel will eventually explain the tragedy better, even more sinister factors. The Chinook is a reliable heavy lift machine, but could also be described in civilian terms as an ideal target. The tactics of the enemy should not be discounted, as you mention, in Mogadishu. This was the experience repeatedly in Iraq as well. Improvised ambush. A strategy, which, if it works, draws a predictable response. Played out in countless ‘B’ grade western movies.
Right now the news is that they had come to aid some Rangers in a firefight, and that they were leaving the site of the battle and were hit with a rocket, and that the Rangers have secured the crash site.
If that reporting holds up, then we should be learning the details soon.