Posted on 04/13/2004 4:22:28 AM PDT by kattracks
FALLUJAH, Iraq - A U.S. Apache helicopter crashed and was in flames on the ground Tuesday outside Fallujah after witnesses said it was hit by a rocket. In the south, hundreds of U.S. troops converging on Najaf for a showdown with a radical Shiite cleric came under an ambush that killed one soldier.
There was no immediate word on casualties from the crash of the helicopter, which an Associated Press reporter say burning 12 miles east of Fallujah in the village of Zawbaa. Witnesses said they saw a rocket hit the craft.
U.S. troops who converged on the site were attacked by gunmen, the reporter said. Witnesses said four U.S. soldiers were hit.
While Fallujah has been relatively calm for four days, the area between the besieged city and Baghdad has seen heavy clashes between gunmen and U.S. forces. Insurgents shot down another Apache on Sunday in nearby Abu Ghraib, killing its two crewmembers.
Before Tuesday's helicopter crash, a U.S. convoy was attacked near the same site, and two Humvees and a truck were burning, said witnesses, who also reported U.S. casualties.
Meanwhile, a large force of 2,500 U.S. troops backed by tanks and heavy artillery — more than are currently besieging Fallujah — deployed outside the city of Najaf on Tuesday on a mission the top U.S. commander in Iraq (news - web sites), Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, said aimed to "capture or kill" radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
On route to Najaf, the force's 80-vehicle convoy was ambushed Monday night by gunmen firing small arms and setting of roadside bombs north of the city. One soldier was killed and two soldiers and two soldiers and an American civilian contractor were wounded, officers in the convoy said.
Units set up a cordon on approaches to the city, barring militiamen from leaving.
Iraqi leaders have launched hurried negotiations aimed at averting a U.S. assault on the city, site of the holiest Shiite site, the Imam Ali Shrine.
The commander of the force said his forces were aware that a "single shot in Najaf" by U.S. soldiers could outrage Iraq's powerful Shiite majority.
"Look at this as the Shiite Vatican (news - web sites)," Col. Dana J. H. Pittard told reporters before the deployment.
In a concession to American demands, al-Sadr ordered his militiamen out of police stations and government buildings in Najaf and the nearby cities of Karbala and Kufa on Monday. Police were back in their stations and patrolling the streets, while al-Sadr black-garbed gunmen largely stayed out of sight.
The sons of Iraq's three grand ayatollahs — including the most powerful one, Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani — met al-Sadr Monday night in his Najaf office and assured him of their opposition to any U.S. strike.
"They agreed not to allow any hostile act against Sayyed Moqtada al-Sadr and the city of Najaf," said a person who attended the meeting, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The delegation from the grand ayatollahs was also reportedly trying to work out a compromise to prevent a U.S. attack.
The grand ayatollahs — older, moderate leaders with immense influence among Shiites — have long kept the young, fiercely anti-American al-Sadr at arm's length. The sending of the delegation reflected the eagerness to avoid bloodshed in Najaf and the new influence that the al-Mahdi Army's militia's uprising has brought al-Sadr.
Earlier Tuesday, al-Sadr militiamen based in the main main msoque in the nearby city of Kufa opened fire on a passing patrol of Spanish forces, prompting a short exchange of fire.
Overnight, a mortar was fired at the Spanish base between Kufa and Najaf, and Spanish forces repelled a militia attack on a nearby water distillation plant.
The top U.S. military spokesman said about 70 Americans and 700 insurgents had been killed this month, the bloodiest since the fall of Baghdad a year agom with U.S.-led forces fighting on three fronts: against Sunni insurgents in Fallujah, Shiite militiamen in the south and gunmen in Baghdad and on its outskirts.
More than 600 Iraqis have been killed in Fallujah since the siege began on April 5, said the head of the city hospital, Rafie al-Issawi. Most of the dead registered at hospitals and clinics were women, children and elderly, he said.
In all, about 880 Iraqis have been killed in the violence, according to an AP count based on statements by Iraqi hospital officials, U.S. military statements and Iraqi police.
Another toll from the week's violence: more than 40 foreigners reportedly were taken hostage by insurgents, though a dozen had been released Sunday and Monday. Those still believed held included three Japanese and American truck driver Thomas Hamill, whose captors had threatened to kill them.
Eight Ukrainian and Russian employees of a Russian energy company who were kidnaped in Baghdad were freed Tuesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Seven Chinese were freed Monday after being held for a day, China's official news agency said. Two reportedly were injured.
Two U.S. soldiers and seven employees of a U.S. contractor, including Hamill, were missing after an attack Friday on a convoy west of Baghdad, Sanchez said.
The recent burst of violence has exposed weaknesses in Iraq's U.S.-trained security forces. A battalion of the Iraqi army refused to fight in Fallujah, Sanchez said. And some police defected to al-Sadr's forces, said Gen. John Abizaid, the top commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East.
In an effort to toughen the Iraqi forces, Abizaid said the U.S. military will reach out to former senior members of Saddam's disbanded army — a reversal in strategy. The military in the past has tried to avoid relying on top officials from the ousted regime.
"It's ... very clear that we've got to get more senior Iraqis involved — former military types involved in the security forces," he said. "In the next couple of days you'll see a large number of senior officers being appointed to key positions in the ministry of defense and the Iraqi joint staff and in Iraqi field commands."
Though al-Sadr's militia abided by the U.S demand to withdraw from police stations and government buildings in Najaf, Karbala and Kufa, they rebuffed an American demand to disband the militia.
In Fallujah, Sunni insurgents and Marines largely held to a truce while Iraqi Governing Council members negotiated with city officials to find a way to halt the violence.
___
AP correspondents Denis D. Gray with the troops outside Najaf and Abdul Hussein Yousef in Najaf contributed to this report.
In an effort to toughen the Iraqi forces, Abizaid said the U.S. military will reach out to former senior members of Saddam's disbanded army — a reversal in strategy. The military in the past has tried to avoid relying on top officials from the ousted regime.Isn't it true that the Allies used German soldiers to help maintain order after WWII?
The Army's AN/ALQ-156(V)1 Missile Approach Detector / Missile Approach Warning System (MAWS) an airborne radar system carried on the CH-47D which is designed to warn of a threat missile actually targeting the aircraft, thus enabling the effective employment of evasive maneuvers and electronic warfare and infrared countermeasures. It was developed as part of the Integrated Defensive Avionics Program (IDAP), along with the AN/ALE-50. The AN/ALQ-156(V)2 Missile Approach Detector provides protection for the EH-60A, RC-12, C-23B aircraft, and the AN/ALQ-156(V)3 is used on the OV-1D.---AN/ALQ-156A MAWS Missile Approach Warning System
And this is just one example. There must be more like this in our arsenal. Why aren't they working 100%?
..........or perhaps the Klingons will share their cloaking technology with us ;-)
Most defensive shields use one of two methods for detecting incoming fire: (1) Targeting radar signature from the inbound weapon or (2) Defensive radar skin-paints originating from the aircraft or other platforms (like AWACs).
Given that the helicopter appears to have been shot down by a "rocket", by which I believe they mean an RPG, only the second solution would help, and that is limited by the distance from the shooter and the speed of the projectile. It's good to keep in mind that Goliath was felled by a kid with a sling and a rock. The same principle is at work here - even an archaic weapon like a bolt-action rifle can be used to make a lucky shot.
I don't believe there will ever be invulnerability for our troops and their platforms, especially for helicopters. Helicopters, after all, don't really fly - they beat the air into submission!
Oh, for heaven' sakes, get a grip! This is a war, damnit! People die, helecopters get shot down! This is not a video game.
Like I said, "Get a Grip!"
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