U.S. Chopper Loaded With Troops Shotdown in E. Afghanistan

MSNBC Breaking Live

[RCW2001]

MSNBC reporting unknown casualties, CNN reporting multiple casualties... Developing...

[Michael Maher]

Oh yeah, they are safe alright, a regular SUV of the air!
But then do you realize just how unsafe SUV's are!
I have many hours flown in them & don't like them at all, but I'm a little predjudiced about them- almost died in one.

[Michael Maher]

any aircraft can loose a turbine

um, yes- but the chinooks loose them at an alarming rate, unproportioal to other aircraft.

[Anoy11_]

Waiting for the press to whip out Vietnam references. the press, by the way, is more than willing to convince the American people that this will be another Vietnam even though no significant similarities really exist.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Monday, 4 March, 2002, 14:19 GMT

US helicopter shot down in Afghanistan BBC

A US army helicopter has been shot down over eastern Afghanistan, killing several soldiers, US military officials say.

The helicopter, either a Chinook or an MH-47 transport helicopter, was taking part in operations against suspected al-Qaeda and Taleban fighters reported to be holed up in mountains south of Gardez in Paktia province.

Pentagon sources said at least six soldiers were killed in the incident.

US officials declined to give further details because a search and rescue mission may still be under way.

It is the first US aircraft shot down in action since the anti-terror war began in Afghanistan last October.

The incident comes as the largest coalition force assembled so far in Afghanistan - about 1,500 in total - remain heavily engaged in ground battles with al-Qaeda and Taleban forces.

Troops from Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany and Norway are involved alongside US special forces and Afghan fighters.

On Friday, one American soldier and three Afghan anti-Taleban soldiers were killed and several more wounded in heavy fighting in the Gardez region.

[sam_paine]

Do a Truman, and let's get this nonsense over with.

Please put your serious cap on! The nipponese were at least rational.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

		Two Army Chinook helicopters like this one were hit by enemy fire overnight in Afghanistan.
		U.S. soldiers die as two choppers hit
		One downed in Afghanistan fighting; another hit by grenade on ground
		NBC, MSNBC AND NEWS SERVICES

[Issaquahking]

These sand fleas have killed over 3,000 people here in America on U.S. soil. We need to start bombing everyplace we know of terrorists in the God Forsaken armpit. Will innocents die? Of course. Do I care? Hell no! Everytime we kill someone there, that is one less that can attack us, or give birth to a terrorist. They hate us with every grain of there being, and cheer when ours die. I say we wipe them from the earth, that no more of ours die. We need to be the most feared nation on the planet.

That commy Tommy Dashole needs to crawl under a rock and stay there - the president has work to do! The hell with the fringe leftists - we have a war to fight and win!

[sam_paine]

What happened to Enron? I haven't heard about it in days. Po little dimmys can' come up with nuthin!

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Fierce Fighting

In the worst 24 hours of the war in terms of U.S. combat casualties, six Americans have been killed and a U.S. helicopter shot down as anti-terror coalition forces attacked a complex of caves in eastern Afghanistan.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

6 Die In U.S. Chopper Crash

	Pentagon sources say an American helicopter has been shot down over eastern Afghanistan. At least six people aboard the craft were killed, while more than 1,000 U.S. troops are battling al Qaeda near Gardez.  More...

[ladtx]

Oh yeah, they are safe alright, a regular SUV of the air! But then do you realize just how unsafe SUV's are! I have many hours flown in them & don't like them at all, but I'm a little predjudiced about them- almost died in one.

Sounds like you were in the wrong line of work. The CH-47 is one of the safest helicopters in the air. They have no more engine failures than any other helicopter. I was an instructor pilot in the Chinook for many years and have a different perspective. I've almost died in one also, but she's also the one that brought me back home.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Seven Americans killed as choppers hit

At least seven U.S. troops were killed today in two separate attacks on military helicopters in eastern Afghanistan, Pentagon sources tell CNN. Six were killed when their chopper was shot down and a firefight ensued. The other died of unknown injuries after a helicopter was hit but managed to return safely to base.

[concerned about politics]

From another thread...

But he warned "the Afghanistan problem did not come to an end" with the defeat of the Taliban. "It needs a lot of work, a lot of cooperation. These people are very dangerous, and you have to watch them, even in the United States."---President Hosni Mubarak

[Redleg Duke]

Along with that, when they troops start capturing the same bastards they captured earlier, I think that the number being captured will start to dwindle.

[silver fox two]

Ain't it about time to make a BIG sheet of glass out of that whole area, and stop pussy-footin' around?

[is_is]

If someone was bringing Chinooks up to the line of contact, that someone should be court martialed. Those damn things are not maneuverable. They're Stinger-bait, and they shouldn't be near the front line.

The entire country IS the front lines.....the raghead next to you could be the enemy. A raghead could get on a roof in Kandahar and fire one off and blend back in, in seconds.....

i am not disputing your point just making another one...

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Copter Downed: Six Dead

A US Chinook helicopter has been shot down in Afghanistan, leaving at least six people dead, US military sources have said.

The helicopter was downed as 1,500 Allied troops continued their assault on several hundred heavily-armed Taliban and al Qaeda guerrillas in the east of the country.

The fighters are holed up in a cave network in Paktia province.

Bombing raids

Since the attack began on Saturday, US jets have carried out a series of bombing raids.

The operation appeared to be the largest joint US-Afghan attack since American and British planes kicked off military activities in Afghanistan in October.

Australian, Canadian, French, Norwegian, Danish and German troops were fighting alongside their American and Afghan allies as Chinook helicopters moved personnel from rear positions to the battlefield.

Pro-US Afghan troops approached enemy hide-outs from three directions to isolate the Taliban and al Qaeda fighters and prevent them from escaping.

Last Updated: 14:39 UK, Monday March 04, 2002

[cake_crumb]

"Much better would be to sincerely induce Afghans to form a leadership based on the grassroot consensus involving those called "warlords"..."

Not possible. There is no concensus of any kind on leadership in Afghanistan. It's primative, tribal societal structure precludes the possibility of those from one tribe permanently allying with those from a competing tribe. (the different "leaders" are in competition for personal power)Temporary alliances to further personal goals which on the surface seem to coincide are common, but end as soon as those goals are acheived, conflicting personal goals come to the fore and naturally get in the way.

The warlords are not leaders. For the most part - I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, there might be an exception we haven't heard of yet - they are power hungry mini dictators.

Dictators are not leaders. They are tyrants.

[Catspaw]

Ain't it about time to make a BIG sheet of glass out of that whole area, and stop pussy-footin' around?

Tempting, if we could selectively kill al Qaeda and Taliban and leave the innocents in this war alone.

[kassie]

Thanks for all the comments. I am with out a tv right now and appreciate all I have learned from this thread. Please keep us up dated.