Posted on 07/23/2005 10:00:02 AM PDT by SLB
Three men described as Middle Eastern-looking were seen aiming a rocket launcher at a low-flying B-1 Bomber near Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma.
Air Force security pursued the suspects, who got away, but left behind their rocket launcher, according to a July 14 Air Force staff directive obtained by WND.
The three suspects were observed outside the perimeter of the air base, looking through binoculars and aiming the weapon at chest level, according to the report.
The FBI and Air Force security are investigating the incident, which suggests a threat to military and commercial flights within the U.S. from rocket launchers – or MNAPADS, Man-Portable Air Defense Systems, as they are called.
According to Jane's Terrorism and Insurgency Center, "MANPADS form part of the arsenal of weapons available to almost 30 insurgent and terrorist groups worldwide, their apparent proliferation on the black market making them relatively easy and, depending on the model in question, cheap to acquire."
U.S.-made "Stinger" missiles were widely distributed by the Central Intelligence Agency among rebel Mujahedeen groups fighting the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan during the 1980s. Given the weapon's record against agile military aircraft – at least 270 confirmed kills – the threat that such an advanced system poses to much slower civil aviation is obvious. Conservative estimates state that at least 100 such missiles are still in the country out of around 900 originally supplied.
I searched but did not find this article and I am not certain about posting from WND.
Good question. Either there's a big story hidden, or the author is recklessly full of shiite.
I am taking this is a grain of salt the size of Farah's ego, which is rather large....
Considering the source (WND) and the "writer" (Farah), which should be taken skeptically.
Got away??!! Why??!! What kind of security is that?
You're not alone.
Try here http://g2.wnd.com/
Sometimes WND has expanded information on other news articles, but when they are the only source I sure want to wave the BS flag. I posted this mainly to see what comments it would generate.
Oh, no - the dreaded 7-engine approach. LOL.
Thanks for pointing out the source. I thought at first there might be something to the story, without realizing it was Joe Farah/WND garbage.
Related?
AWACS Plane Lands Safely After Distress Call Reported
http://www.channeloklahoma.com/news/4752346/detail.html
OKLAHOMA CITY -- An AWACS plane landed safely Thursday at Tinker Air Force Base after an in-flight emergency was reported.
Few details were available about the distress call that was made to the control tower. U.S. Air Force officials have not commented about the trouble reported on the communications plane.
Authorities confirmed Thursday afternoon that the aircraft landed safely.
I bet they have fingerprints on that rocket launcher. Maybe cigarette butts on the road and so, DNA. They'll get them.
C'mon, this would have been a HUGE story if it had been true. Or is it a HUGH story? He can't even spell MANPADS.
Sure. We read DEBKA, too, even though its reports seem to be partly inspired and partly factual.
This is the second time I've seen a story about this, yet as far as I know, nothing about it has been published or aired on our local media. Pinging PhiKapMom to see if I missed something.
Interesting. I do remember them mentioning this, but nothing about Stingers.
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