(CNN) – A U.S. Marine Corps KC-130 refueling jet crashed Wednesday near the western Pakistan city of Quetta, Pentagon officials said.
Officials said there is no indication of enemy fire. Eyewitnesses said the plane was making a final approach for landing when it crashed and burst into flames. Search and rescue crews were responding to the scene.
Initial reports indicate there were seven Marines on board and that the plane was en route from Islamabad, Pakistan.
[This message has been edited by Spock (edited January 09, 2002).]
It's a great news. US soldiers didn't deserve any better. There are also reports that the plane was on fire before it crashed, so there's a chance that it was hit by some sort of ground fire- which will serve a blow to the moral of the occupying forces in Afghanistan.
AbdullahK: Do you honestly believe that for Pakistan it is a good thing that US plane went down in it's territory? If it turns out that it was shot at from within Pakistan, you will have more marines buzzing around than in Fort Drum. More US bases within Pakistani soil?
NYC1, they say you have won half the battle if you are able to show the dead bodies of the enemies to their accomplices.
Your point lacks any tactical logic. It will be a suicide mission for the Marines to go openly on a man-hunt in Pakistan.
Yeah NYC, be real. Like hundreds (perhaps thousands) of Pakistani Taliban killed in Afghanistan, this is only a small price for the US to pay. They should prepare for more of these accidents. Meanwhile they are only promised 3 bases in Pakistan (only 3, mind you). Pakistan will never let US have more than 3 bases, ever!
In fact it is a humiliation that more American soldiers haven't been killed in action. This is as a result of preferring to pay mercenaries to do the work that they should have done themselves in the memory of those that died on sep 11.
Judge Mentull-
A) the northen alliance isn't a bunch of mercenaries. To be a mercenary, you must be a paid soldier. The US has given them nothing but military support.
B) Perhaps so few US soldiers died is because they are the special forces. They are the best soldiers from the US. They might not be the best in the world, but they'll give any countries military a run for their money.
[quote]
Originally posted by ShelbyCobraCSX:
*Judge Mentull-
A) the northen alliance isn't a bunch of mercenaries. To be a mercenary, you must be a paid soldier. The US has given them nothing but military support.. *
[/quote]
Northern alliance existed way before operation enduring freedom, and they were noted as merceneries because they were basically a collection of warlords forces who were paid by these warlords.
I would have to disagree with you… If you are referring to the stingers, you should also know that smart guided control weapons such as the stingers need a very reliable power supply, which would probably die out in 10 to 15 years. The power supply could not be replaced since it was way beyond the manufacturing potential of Afghanistan. Throughout this campaign we have seen that little resistance was offerred by the Taliban, and they did not use any stingers at all. I agree it was the stingers that won the Afghanis the war against the Soviets - a fact evident by the number of Soviet Gunships that went down due to them. However, this crash was merely an accident… http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/01/10/f16.crash/index.html
Btw, I just heard another US F-16 fell in New Jersey however the pilot escaped unhurt. Now it was not the Taliban who did that… Accidents do happen