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

MSNBC Breaking Live

[RCW2001]

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

[FreeAtlanta]

Yes, communism isn't dead. We have a communist representative, Cynthia McKinney, here in Georgia. She runs under the Democratic blanket, but most of us know the truth.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Several soldiers confirmed dead

[Oldeconomybuyer]

A Chinook helicopter like this one was brought down by enemy fire

[cake_crumb]

Due to the fact that Iran has kindly been resupplying al Qaeda with weapons, I believe it is now time for the Pentagon to switch military tactics again, to adjust to the current tactics of the al Qaeda.

[FreeAtlanta]

"Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., faults the administration "

Daschle is a treasonous pig.

[Wolfhound1969]

It's obvious to me that little Tommy hates our troops as much as Bill Clinton did. I wish I could tell him face to face how I feel he is a traitor and should be removed from office, but even if I could it would not bother him. He can't feel the pain of an honorable warrior like he can for the deadbeats of society. Our solders are truly fighting for our freedoms and he will turn his back on them when given the chance.

God Bless our Troops

[1rudeboy]

We bow before your superior knowledge. Tell us, if the military covers-up helicopter losses, why didn't it cover-up this one? Were you out of cell-phone range?

[HiJinx]

Did anyone else have deja vu over this?
An out-numbered US force pitted against a determined enemy in hilly terrain on his own ground, immediate losses of ground troops, losses of helicopters and heliborne troops, calling in air support (Broken Arrow) to supress the enemy...
One news report talked about troops 'running away' from their vehicle to keep from becoming overrun...
Anyone see We Were Soldiers this weekend...? If so, you probably know what the 101st is going through in Gardez.

[ladtx]

When will it end?

When the terrorism stops. I thought GW made that pretty clear.

[The Turbanator]

Ditto to you. I don't support it either. But I don't make the rules. Women are there. Maybe in combat. It does not matter we should be Proud of them ALL.

[Severa]

Wow. You're one of the few I've seen that's actually spoken up in favor of this aircraft *LOL* I see these around NAS Norfolk where my husband is stationed. It never ceases to amaze me that these (sorry, I understand your love for them since they have served you well but to me they're painfully ugly) craft manage to get off the ground, let alone get anywhere.

[mwl1]

Nuke them and be done with eastern Afghanistan.

[ladtx]

...they're painfully ugly) craft manage to get off the ground, let alone get anywhere.

All in the eye of the beholder I suppose. To me it's what a helicopter is supposed to look like. And surprisingly faster than many realize. Ask the Cobra pilot who tried to pass me one day, as he came up on my tail I just keep nosing it over, he never made it past me and I beat him back to base.

[Fury]

All in the eye of the beholder I suppose. To me it's what a helicopter is supposed to look like. And surprisingly faster than many realize. Ask the Cobra pilot who tried to pass me one day, as he came up on my tail I just keep nosing it over, he never made it past me and I beat him back to base.

What type of fire do you think brought down the Chinook?

[tobiasjodter]

Yes, I can imagine a headline like that unfortunately. It is amazing to me the gloom and doom I have been hearing on the radio on the way in to work this morning. I heard one so-called expert say that this loss of life is an unexpected surprise (Tony Blankley). We go into a ground battle against hundreds or thousands of the enemy and it's a surprise that someone on our side gets killed???? Another military expert insisted that U.S Forces have been out-smarted and this is a catastophe of epic proportions (Ken Allard). He was falling all over himself to compare this with Vietnam and Somolia. I could see him going into the fetal position as he moaned about how much tougher the Al queda are than us.

Yeah, no one wants anyone to die, but I fail to see why people are so surprised. Soldiers get killed in war. We have no freaking clue what is happening over there. Steady, steady all you arm chair experts.

[TexasNative2000]

When the terrorism stops. I thought GW made that pretty clear.

Well said. BTW, I checked your profile page - thank you for your service in Viet Nam.

[Rebelbase]

This is a tragedy for the soldiers families and friends and will not even come close to shaking the resolve of the american people. By comparision, WWII bomber missions over germany would lose dozens of planes per raid on a routine basis.

Only the self-serving/personal gain politiicians will be whining/crying outloud over this incident.

[A. Pole]

Suggestions on how we should proceed?

This is a complex question. On the operational level in the area of Afghanistan I would gradually dumped this puppet Karzai. I think it is a mistake to try to run Afghanistan and to micromanage it. Much better would be to sincerely induce Afghans to form a leadership based on the grassroot consensus involving those called "warlords" who are the natural leaders for their society. The only restriction would be excluding or marginalising Taleban. The setup of such national consensus government would not be predesigned in Washington or would not be predicable. It would have to be a result of spontaneous (although induced and guided) process.

Such new leadeeship would be moderate (consisting of diverse groops), not hostile to USA and VERY stable. The purpose of it should not be being a pliable proactive tool for West but a relatively passive obstacle in spread of extremism. Afghanistan then could be left alone and Americans would be free to focus on other urgent issues.

On the global level I would like to see clear, unambiguous condemnation of EVERY separatist, freedom fighting, terroris movement without any hidden exceptions. Be it in Macedonia, Chechnya, Kashmir, Tibet or else. The only permitted way of secession would be through a peacefull and slow methods. That way the new order could be established in which both terrorism and imperialism would be discouraged and major powers could truly cooperate.

[TADSLOS]

Those airframes have been around since the early sixties. The Army has changed the transmissions, engines and other components but the airframe structure is essentialy the same as when originally assembled. That's a testament to this aircraft's durability and utility. They may be ugly to you but they've been damned beautiful to me on many occasions when the alternatives were less than desirable.

[concerned about politics]

"... Before we go into a lot of these other locations, I think it is important for us to better understand what our purpose is, how long will we be there, how many troops will be there, how does it affect our efforts in Afghanistan."

If his leader, Bill Clinton, had done something about this during his reign, we wouldn't be in this mess today. Dashole has a lot of nerve to even open his mouth at all.
What did he and his followers do to end terrorist attacks against the U.S.? Now the cowards on the left have the nerve to crawl out of their holes and demand answers???
They are so pathetic!