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Commandos criticize call for SEALs
washingtontimes.com ^ | August 9,2011 | Rowan Scarborough

Posted on 08/10/2011 6:55:41 AM PDT by Dubya-M-DeesWent2SyriaStupid!

Rangers’ danger, single helicopter among questions

Some in the special operations community are privately criticizing the wisdom of Saturday’s failed rescue mission in Afghanistan, saying commanders should have sent more than the one Chinook helicopter that was shot down, killing 30 American troops, including 23 elite Navy SEALs.

They also questioned whether the quickly assembled mission was necessary to rescue a band of Army Rangers reportedly under fire from Taliban militants.

“I squarely blame whoever planned and authorized the mission for the deaths,” said a Special Forces soldier who served in Afghanistan.

“It was simply uncalled for unless Rangers were being overrun and the ground situation required this much operational risk.”

Special operations sources also told The Washington Times that it would have been better to send two helicopters instead of one to reduce risks.

“The SEALs do seem to like stuffing a lot of valuable guys in one [helicopter],” said a second special operations officer who also served in Afghanistan.

“There may have been an operational reason not to spread them out over two, [but] I just don’t know what that would be.”

They also questioned the type of aircraft dispatched for the mission. The NATO command in Kabul identified the downed helicopter as a Boeing CH-47 Chinook, not the modified version, the MH-47.

The MH-47 Chinook is configured for nighttime missions by the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, based at Fort Campbell, Ky.

The Army Times said the Chinook was piloted by a regular Army crew, not aviators from the specially trained 160th.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Government
KEYWORDS: call; comandos; criticize; seals
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To: ilovesarah2012

I know. I agree. It is just not right all around. I heard the same from all different types of people that are usually clueless to who the VP is. ABC news needs to be told to remove the names immediately and the MSM needs to stop but someone high up in government has to be feeding the media beast. The WH leaked way too much when OBL was killed.There is no respect,honor or character in the MSM or WH.


21 posted on 08/10/2011 7:29:03 AM PDT by Dubya-M-DeesWent2SyriaStupid! (S&P wasn't worried about us not lifting the debt ceiling - they are worried about the spending)
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To: sten

The ambush was set for the return leg of the mission, not the outbound.


22 posted on 08/10/2011 7:29:03 AM PDT by MortMan (What disease did cured ham used to have?)
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To: Dubya-M-DeesWent2SyriaStupid!

i was always under the impression the rangers like being surrounded.... more targets

it seems fairly unlikely a ranger unit would call for support which, if it didn’t arrive, would survive the fight

my guess... the entire situation was a setup and payoff

just before ramadan

dates matter to muslims


23 posted on 08/10/2011 7:30:32 AM PDT by sten (fighting tyranny never goes out of style)
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To: Dubya-M-DeesWent2SyriaStupid!
The first option to support the Rangers should
have been an A-10 with 30mm zippers.

The chain of command is FUBAR


24 posted on 08/10/2011 7:33:28 AM PDT by Uri’el-2012 (Psalm 119:174 I long for Your salvation, YHvH, Your law is my delight.)
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To: Dubya-M-DeesWent2SyriaStupid!

So now they got the guys that got the seals. The end of the
witness trail. Now I ask you did we really get OBL?
And if we did, could this be a setup to restore Saudi Honer?
I wouldn’t put it past Obama.
Or. They are getting these guys (seal team) off the books
so they can live a long and safe life?


25 posted on 08/10/2011 7:38:50 AM PDT by Slambat (The right to keep and bear arms. Anything one man can carry, drive or pull.)
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To: RitchieAprile

?”Sometimes you have to take
whatever is at hand.”
Except according to Army Times it is part of a mission to have some special ops people in the air with cobras.

If someone authorized the ground special forces in without accompanying support he should be court martialed.
This from Army Times
“The personnel in the helicopter belonged to an “immediate reaction force” that was en route to support troops in contact on the ground, said the NSW member. An immediate reaction force differs from a quick reaction force in that the former is built into the mission plan and is on site during the raid, sometimes circling the action in a helicopter, waiting to be committed if needed, whereas a quick reaction force is typically brought forward from the rear, the NSW source said.”


26 posted on 08/10/2011 7:39:21 AM PDT by RWGinger
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To: UriÂ’el-2012

I agree. Why don’t we have more A-10’s than anything else? Those things are scary.


27 posted on 08/10/2011 7:44:31 AM PDT by old3030 (I lost some time once. It's always in the last place you look.)
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To: Dubya-M-DeesWent2SyriaStupid!
I agree; probabbly some NATO, REMF, who we will never know his ID and who will never be held responsible for this fiasco.

Which also BEGS what I have been asking since first learning about this Chinese Fire Drill which costs the lives of so many our our brave Warriors?

WHY was not an airstrike (from fast movers, apache helos, cruise missiles, or drones) used in the 1st place, rather than rely on using the SEALS as a "Rapid Response Team" to help out the Army who though were under fire, had not (as reported) suffered any casualties.

Allow me to speculate: The Hate-America/Military, FASCIST, Neo-Commie, Islamic-Jihadist, appeaser and "Defender-in-Chief's" Rules of Engagement, which dictate that before any raids, the village/province Chief MUST be informed prior thereto as well as local AF-GAN military (who we all know how "Reliable and Loyal" they are) must accopany our guys on said raids.

No chance for a betrayal or an "ambush" under those circumstances, right???

Morevoer, our Dear Leader (aided and abetted by the Chicken Hawks and PC wusses in the Pentagon) is more interested and concerned with "Hearts and Minds" and "Nation Building" as well as insuring not ONE Af-Gan civilian is injured he would as soon sacrifice needlessly, our own Military in order to achieve this goal.

As a Nam Vet I am disgusted and fed up and see too many similarities between what we experienced and now, thus I've changed my mind and vote to bring em' all home and bring em' home NOW!!!

28 posted on 08/10/2011 7:47:10 AM PDT by Conservative Vermont Vet (l)
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To: ilovesarah2012
Your dau. is very wise. I never liked flying in those things. Loud (4 engines), slow, large. RPG bait. 12.7mm bait. Bullet magnets. Exit out the back via ramp hydraulically operated. Although it would be lowered before we landed, it took quite a long time for so many troops with 70 pound packs and weapons of all sorts to clear the helicopter. Never wanted to be the last guy off. No one did.

All helicopters are especially vulnerable during takeoff/landing. They are under tremendous stress anyway, so anything impacting them will have an adverse effect. Even small arms. RPGs very effective at close range. Destructive as well.

This horrific tragedy seems to have been due, perhaps, to the "fog of war."

29 posted on 08/10/2011 7:50:10 AM PDT by donozark (Never loan money to a preacher...)
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To: Conservative Vermont Vet

You have been living in Bernieland too long. :-)


30 posted on 08/10/2011 7:51:56 AM PDT by verity (The Obama Administration is a Criminal Enterprise.)
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To: brownsfan
Prayers for the fallen warriors and their families. I had the same though when I first heard about this tragedy. During my brief tour of Afghanistan I was able to spot the modified CH-47 in action, very fast, low and quiet, which is the reason they put them all in there.

The op security in the theater is taken very seriously, which is why I keep asking myself how did such ideal circumstances evolve to where the Taliban were obviously prepared and waiting to take this flight down once it arrived on station. I smell a cover-up.

31 posted on 08/10/2011 7:53:29 AM PDT by semaj (Anybody who claims that violence never solved anything is a liar..., just ask the government.)
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To: ilovesarah2012
Yeah....and if they are on a "rescue" mission ....how come so many troops are jam packed into the helicopter..?

What were they expected to bring back....a few sets of ID tags weighing a few ounces....

and what medical equipment / medics were on the mission...?

32 posted on 08/10/2011 7:54:19 AM PDT by spokeshave (Obamas approval ratings are so low, Kenyans are accusing him of being born in the USA.)
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To: Slambat

No way the second part could be reality. It is not normal to put seals in a witness protection program type of deal. Your point would be because their unit and identity were compromised in the MSM when OBL was taken out therefore undoing a MSM Obama admin leak. If this were the case the names would not have been released to compromise their families.


33 posted on 08/10/2011 7:57:42 AM PDT by Dubya-M-DeesWent2SyriaStupid! (S&P wasn't worried about us not lifting the debt ceiling - they are worried about the spending)
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To: spokeshave

Like I said, lots of questions. Sad when you view your own government as the enemy, but I do.


34 posted on 08/10/2011 7:57:58 AM PDT by ilovesarah2012
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To: semaj

“I smell a cover-up.”

I wasn’t there, I don’t know much about the special forces, but I wouldn’t put it past the Obama administration to offer this “in trade” for Osama Bin Laden. Since the Taliban and the Pakistanis are essentially the same thing, a move to soothe the Pakistanis?


35 posted on 08/10/2011 7:58:16 AM PDT by brownsfan (I miss the America I grew up in.)
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To: Conservative Vermont Vet

The higher the rank the more liberal the big wigs tend to be but all of these leaks (what spec ops took out OBL) and now their names,details,operation , released; is just not normal.Spec Ops and the brave individuals that carry them out never get any glory or recognition for good reasons. Until Obama.

Only things for sure are: Obama’s ROE are heinous,Obama as CIC is heinous. On Obama’s watch loose lips and the MSM are heinous....


36 posted on 08/10/2011 8:07:55 AM PDT by Dubya-M-DeesWent2SyriaStupid! (S&P wasn't worried about us not lifting the debt ceiling - they are worried about the spending)
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To: Dubya-M-DeesWent2SyriaStupid!
...just the two cent's worth from a guy that doesn't KNOW squat...

...quick reaction force or IRF, or whatever, is just the standard cover story...

...1) those types of forces are usually smaller (see Operation Red Wings)...

...2) there was a dog and handler on board, not QRF, more like snatch and grab...

...3) grapevines were burning up the prior week about big "stuff" coming up...

...4) one "regular guy" helo smells of undercover, "no need to worry about us"...

...like i said, just the ramblings of an nobody...

37 posted on 08/10/2011 8:15:37 AM PDT by cyberaxe (....Uuuummpphhhh.....)
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To: ilovesarah2012

...another dirty lie from an inept, ignoble administration...


38 posted on 08/10/2011 8:16:00 AM PDT by gargoyle (...This looks like a good fight, deal me in...)
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To: Dubya-M-DeesWent2SyriaStupid!; Conservative Vermont Vet
If some AA twit wrote Seals in a Chinook as Plan "B"
in the Ranger battle plan they need to be court-martialed.

Oh I guess they did not follow the battle plan or they panicked.

Again Court-martialed.

FUBAR


39 posted on 08/10/2011 8:16:29 AM PDT by Uri’el-2012 (Psalm 119:174 I long for Your salvation, YHvH, Your law is my delight.)
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To: Dubya-M-DeesWent2SyriaStupid!

ANy doubts I had about this have now been erased. Now I am 99.9% sure that this was a loose lips sink ships op.


40 posted on 08/10/2011 8:23:41 AM PDT by mojitojoe ( 1400 years of existence & Islam has 2 main accomplishments, psychotic violence and goat curry)
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