Durbin questions whether helicopter was properly equipped

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Dick Durbin questioned Tuesday whether the Army Chinook helicopter that was piloted by an Illinois National Guardsman and shot down over the weekend in Iraq was equipped with the necessary anti- missile defense system.

In a letter to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Durbin urged that he investigate whether the helicopter had on board a fully operational ALQ-156 system with an automatic flare dispenser and whether it had seat armor to protect those on board.

snip

"What I have learned within the last 24 hours from reliable military sources familiar with the situation on the ground in Iraq is that many of the Illinois and Iowa National Guard helicopters have flown for almost six months in theater without the necessary aircraft survivability system," Durbin said. "Some of them have received systems, some partial systems, but only within the last week or two."

snip

Illinois National Guard officials said at a press briefing on Monday that the downed helicopter was equipped with the ALQ-156 system. A guard spokesman, Army Major Tim Franklin, said Tuesday, that "as far as I know," the guard's position remains.

more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-031104durbin,1,1929166.story?coll=chi-news-hed


No anti-missile system? "Partial" anti-missile system? No seat armor?
It's only a matter of time before troops refuse to go on in these conditions...

Rummy has to pay the mercenaries.

No anti-missile system seems highly likely.

It seems to be an unorthodox way to ask for the necessary protective equipment. I guess the only way to get satisfaction is to go to a Dem senator.

I wonder how many previous requests for the equipment were ignored by Rummy?

The question to pose is: why are we in Iraq? Why are we in Iraq when the previous excuses have been given the lie, and when the people clearly do not want us, and when the world opposes our leaders' despicable mischief?

One thing about these guys seems to be that they keep trying till the get it right. I wouldn't want to fly around in one of those stupid death traps now.

The mortar attacks appear to be headed the same way. They keep targeting that "green zone". Fox news would have you believe that these attacks are somehow arbitrary and laughable due to the fact that they always miss. I would suspect that these have be more like range finding practice rounds. I'll bet that the military is thinking the same thing, thus the news black out about where they are landing and who gets hit.

if they weren't there to begin with.

and welcome to the DU OKHRANA