[Brad from Tennessee]

It's plausible that Al Qaeda had Afghan informants on the base that learned there was a SEAL platoon there that might be used as a reaction force if a U.S. unit was in danger of being overrun. If the insurgents had some intel inside the base they might learn when units of Rangers were leaving the base to operate in the bush. From there they might try to track the Rangers a good distance from the base them attack them with overwhelming numbers. This would trigger a request for a rescue force.

If this trap was planned over a period of days it might give Al Qaeda time to acquire a man-portable SAM to attack the Chinook. Instead of a “lucky shot” with an RPG the chopper might have been hit by something like a Russian 9K34 Strela-3 or even a Stinger from friends in Egypt or Saudi Arabia.

But the insurgents wouldn't necessarily need a “lucky shot” with an RPG if the path between the LZ and the Rangers took the Chinook through a pass. A group of insurgents, up in the pass with RPGs, could fire a volley of rockets horizontally as opposed to trying to fire a much more difficult shot, at a high angle, from a valley floor.

I'm not saying any of this happened but it could have. We are left with whatever story the government releases. But if some news media and a few members of Congress got curious it make shake something loose.

[ansel12]

From there they might try to track the Rangers a good distance from the base them attack them with overwhelming numbers. This would trigger a request for a rescue force.

There was no "rescue" mission, the Rangers wanted someone to cut off the surviving Taliban who were fleeing for their lives.

If this trap was planned over a period of days it might give Al Qaeda time to acquire a man-portable SAM to attack the Chinook. Instead of a “lucky shot” with an RPG the chopper might have been hit by something like a Russian 9K34 Strela-3 or even a Stinger from friends in Egypt or Saudi Arabia.
But the insurgents wouldn't necessarily need a “lucky shot” with an RPG if the path between the LZ and the Rangers took the Chinook through a pass. A group of insurgents, up in the pass with RPGs, could fire a volley of rockets horizontally as opposed to trying to fire a much more difficult shot, at a high angle, from a valley floor.
I'm not saying any of this happened but it could have.

Since the helicopter was hit with an RPG, just what is all that nonsense about?