The Iraq Thread 2

[Badgerboy 0]

Didn't he fly in on Air Force One though? That plane is rather tricky to hide. It only takes 1 person to see something unusual is going on, and then you have a security nightmare on your hands.

[Ex-RoNiN 0]

Didn't he fly in on Air Force One though? That plane is rather tricky to hide. It only takes 1 person to see something unusual is going on, and then you have a security nightmare on your hands.

I would think the Americans are smart enough to have a security perimeter around the airport

[Albert Schweitzer 10]

Wether you like Bush or not but I think it was a nice move. And it was especially nice to see that he was kind of shy to look into the faces of the soldiers he sent to war and it was even more nice how touched he was by the positive reactions.

That didnt look like acting..I think that was real..so he is human after all?

Wether it was such a great risk for him to come there or not is of little relevance!

[bn880 5]

Bleh, of course he is human, but a human who is absolutely not qualified to lead a country.

It does not change anything that he went there, he can go to Mars and it won't change that he is a full pledged murderer.

[Acecombat 0]

Didn't he fly in on Air Force One though? That plane is rather tricky to hide. It only takes 1 person to see something unusual is going on, and then you have a security nightmare on your hands.

I would think the Americans are smart enough to have a security perimeter around the airport

Last time i read the airport was being hit by mortar fire by rebels within a 2000m radius of the airport with a usual Apache being sent in to quite them down a bit

But with the sophistaced Airforce one jet a Stinger would have missed too since the plane carries chaff onbaord i think ....

[Col. Kurtz 0]

But with the sophistaced Airforce one jet a Stinger would have missed too since the plane carries chaff onbaord i think ....  

I would imagine that it carries a bit more than chaff, I would add flares plus the most high-tech jamming-counter-measure device/s that money can buy.

Probably look a bit bad if one Iraqi farmer managed to take out Air Force One, then you'd get all the conspiracy theorists jumping in and claiming it was really an attack by the Martians.

Was quite a good idea however, makes good TV and I'm sure mindless zombies all over the world will be overwhelmed by the heorism of George W. Bush, our lord and saviour venturing into the badlands were major combat operations were supposed to have ended months ago...

[Tex -USMC- 0]

But with the sophistaced Airforce one jet a Stinger would have missed too since the plane carries chaff onbaord i think ....  

It would need a bit more than chaff, considering that Stingers lock onto infrared sources, and chaff only spoofs radar-guided missiles

[FSPilot 0]

The way I heard it they did fly AF1 into Baghdad Intl., but didn't use "Air Force One" as their callsign. It was at night, and they were only there for about 2 hours. So even if an enemy soldier noticed that AF1 was parked in Baghdad they wouldn't of had much time to organize a very big attack.

[aj_addons 0]

if i was to take down any sort of moderen helicopter i would use a wire guided at launcher, all flares and chaff in the world anit going to distract it . not sure if hitting a plane would be so esay proably when its landing would be best and just keep under its flight path and just let the thing catch up with it and you have to worry about tracking the things movement on the the y axis and good bye Mr Bush, ive always thought i would make a good terrorist/fredom fighter

[Badgerboy 0]

The way I heard it they did fly AF1 into Baghdad Intl., but didn't use "Air Force One" as their callsign.  It was at night, and they were only there for about 2 hours.  So even if an enemy soldier noticed that AF1 was parked in Baghdad they wouldn't of had much time to organize a very big attack.

Apparantly AF1 crossed paths with a BA 747 on the trip back. when the BA pilot questioned the aircrafts ID, they responded by saying AF1 was a Gulfstream. Needless to say, the BA pilot wasn't blind, and responed with a 'hhmmmm' over the radio.

[EiZei 0]

Who needs MANPADs when you got this?

http://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/row/zu-23.jpg

[Badgerboy 0]

Now that might be spotted, even if it was mounted on the back of a donkey.

[aj_addons 0]

good for taking out an abram's though just blast away at the engine deck and watch those he rounds do there magic

[denoir 0]

Was quite a good idea however, makes good TV and I'm sure mindless zombies all over the world will be overwhelmed by the heorism of George W. Bush, our lord and saviour venturing into the badlands were major combat operations were supposed to have ended months ago...

Not just mindless zombies. While many Americans don't approve of Bush, there is still quite a bit of a cult of personallity connected to the presidency - regardless who is holding the office. Combine that with thanksgiving and American soldiers and you have enough to short-circuit just about any American's brain. It's nationalism (or patriotism if you prefer that word) and has nothing to do with intelligence. The President, Thanksgiving and US Soldiers are three very powerful symbols in the American culture.

I must congratulate Bush's PR people for that idea since it was brilliant. I watched some American news yesterday and even the most liberal anti-Bush networks were completely taken away by patriotic fervour. And the news came exactly when thanksgivings dinner was served.

Funny thing, looking at it a bit more objectivley, without the turkey and all the flags - Bush's visit was sort of an admission of defeat. It had to be a surprise visit because the security situation in Iraq is bad. People are talking about how brave it was for Bush to go there - and by that they're also acknowledging that Iraq is indeed a dangerous place.

[Winters 1]

I agree with you Denoir, it was all a big farce. Sure, its a big moral boost to the soldiers to see the Prez show up. But before you get all misty eyed its all just a distraction from the point that they have totally blown it in Iraq up to this point, maybe they will get it all figured out but i highly doubt it with this clown we got running things now. Maybe after the 2004 vote we will have someone who actually has a clue.

But,

It still made for an interesting story the way they planned and executed his trip. I was reading in the NY Daily News that a British Airways pilot spotted the plane and radioed asking if it was Air Force One and he was told that it was Gulf Stream Five, a real but much smaller aircraft.

[bn880 5]

Yes and BTW: I hear most Iraqi citizens are _quite_ offended by this kind of visit. Un-announced, and they only found out he was there once he left. Good PR for propagating the war, on both ends.

EDIT: Compare this to Saddam, ho had the balls to go out into Baghdad streets even during the takeover of his capital.

[Scorpio 0]

EDIT: Compare this to Saddam, ho had the balls to go out into Baghdad streets even during the takeover of his capital.

*Cough*Clone*Cough*

I think its pretty obvious...

[bn880 5]

It's not obvious, it was no clone according to reports from people who were close to him. (captured)

[FSPilot 0]

Yes and BTW: I hear most Iraqi citizens are _quite_ offended by this kind of visit.  Un-announced, and they only found out he was there once he left.  Good PR for propagating the war, on both ends.  

EDIT: Compare this to Saddam, ho had the balls to go out into Baghdad streets even during the takeover of his capital.

You actually believe that? Those were faked. Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to insult your precious Saddam Hussein. But he doesn't have the balls to pull this kind of stunt.

[Tamme 0]

Yes and BTW: I hear most Iraqi citizens are _quite_ offended by this kind of visit.  Un-announced, and they only found out he was there once he left.  Good PR for propagating the war, on both ends.  

EDIT: Compare this to Saddam, ho had the balls to go out into Baghdad streets even during the takeover of his capital.

You actually believe that?  Those were faked.  Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to insult your precious Saddam Hussein.  But he doesn't have the balls to pull this kind of stunt.

Of course he has balls to send a clo... to go out on the streets.

[ralphwiggum 6]

let's not forget that at that time, saddam was still in control, nearest US soldiers were miles away, while Iraqi resistance would have been anywhere.

[FSPilot 0]

I'm pretty sure the general consensus is that he made those videos before the bombing began. He burned oil around Baghdad (which made pretty big headlines if I remember right).

[denoir 0]

I don't think that there is any reason to think that Saddam does not have balls. He did not back off from a fight against a super power. He was in Baghdad well after the city fell and was on numerous occasions close to be killed. In his youth he started a failed coup d'état and was wounded in the attempt.

Bush skipped the Vietnam war by flying for the national guard in Texas.

So you tell me, who's got the biggest balls? The guy with the cruise missiles, or the guy who keeps fighting while being bombed?

Obviously having balls is not the only thing that defines a man.

Related:

Hillary Clinton makes Iraq visit. Before that she was in Afghanistan and she stayed in Baghdad far longer than two hours.

[Scorpio 0]

You've got a good point, denoir. In my opinion, one shouldn't define a person by his "balls" as you said, but rather his qualities. But in this case, both have zilch qualities in them and both try to hide their evil.

[bn880 5]

This is ridiculous! Saddam was in the streets of Baghdad as it was being taken over by coalition forces! This has been confirmed god damn it... people that said it was really him had nothing to gain from saying this. FFS... what's wrong with some people.