Insurgents attack Black Hawk helicopter in field; U.S. forces reportedly shot at civilian convoy

Associated Press ^ | 10-25-03

[Brian S]

Guerrillas fired small arms and rocket-propelled grenades at a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter after it came down Saturday in a field near Tikrit, wounding one soldier and causing the craft to explode in flames and spew a column of black smoke, the U.S. military said.

[mad_as_he$$]

Dear President Bush:

Can you please explain to me and my fellow Americans why we have spent trillions of dollars to build the strongest military in the history of our planet only to let the very weapons desgined to protect our service members sit idly by while our loved ones are needlessly slaughtered.

I do hereby demand that the full force and power of ALL of Armed Forces of the United States be unleashed on ANY person who points a weapon of ANY kind at ANY American anywhere, anytime.

This incident with the Backhawk should have been instantly terminated with an Apache, Spectre, A-10 or F-16,18A or F-15.

We grow weary of this war and it is time to let the world know that we will not be shot down like turkeys on opening day anymore.

Sincerely,

One Pissed Off Taxpayer.

[MonroeDNA]

You are in heavan.

[marsh2]

Our little nearby town of Yreka (population 10,000) lost one of its sons in the convoy and another in the Black Hawk incident.

[TheEngineer]

For weeks, chaplains have been training troops to be sensitive to Muslim religious traditions.

If I set up a huge barbecue smoker with pork chops and ribs grilling all day long in Tikrit, would that be "insensitive" to the muslim religious traditions of ramadan?

[Lady In Blue]

"We grow weary of this war .......

'We'?! - I think you should speak for yourself or maybe just post this remark on DU.

[mad_as_he$$]

I am so sorry to have taken the leave of speaking for others. However, if you follow the polls they cearly show a serious erosion of support for the war. I expect that tomorrow morning there will be another round that show even more erosion in the support after the last 48 hours of bloodshed. These are the same polsters who recorded the earlier support at incredibly high levels.

My main point is that I am sick of kids being put on patrol with little or no security. The Army has just published a very critical report of itself and the performance of intel gathering and handling in Iraq and "stan. Very disconcerting.

Most people I talk with daily fell like I do that the fear of civilian(s) killed has really pulled the teeth of the Armed Services and I just want all to know that we will kick their a$$ and kill anybody bold enough to point a weapon at us.

Just for the record. Southeast Asia War Games Second Place, 1972-73