Visit our website: HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------------------------- ============= ()______()~~~~ or 3 Pacs for $9.96 + Tax ============= "We hit two military targets in southern Iraq early this afternoon Washington time (Tuesday night in Iraq)," Whitman told Reuters. "We have always said that we retain the right to respond to continuing attacks on coalition (U.S. and British) aircraft at a time and place of our choosing," he said, adding that the raid occurred in a "no-fly" zone south of Baghdad." Pentagon: U.S. Warplanes Hit Iraq http://news.lycos.com/news/story.asp?section=LycosBreaking&storyID=46380&from= lycoshp Reuters Aug 28, 2001 03:40 p.m. PDT E-mail or Print this story - - - - - WASHINGTON - U.S. warplanes attacked two air defense targets in southern Iraq on Tuesday in a continuing effort to degrade Iraqi attempts to shoot down American and British warplanes, defense officials said. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman gave no immediate details of the attack. But he said it was not in direct retaliation for Iraq's claim that its gunners on Monday shot down an unmanned U.S. military reconnaissance plane in southern Iraq. "We hit two military targets in southern Iraq early this afternoon Washington time (Tuesday night in Iraq)," Whitman told Reuters. "We have always said that we retain the right to respond to continuing attacks on coalition (U.S. and British) aircraft at a time and place of our choosing," he said, adding that the raid occurred in a "no-fly" zone south of Baghdad. U.S. Defense officials said fewer than a dozen aircraft, including attack and support planes, took part in the raid and that all returned safely to their bases. Other U.S. defense officials earlier on Tuesday downplayed the possible downing of a slow, unmanned U.S. spy plane by Iraqi air defenses, saying the loss did not indicate Iraq was closer to shooting down an American or British warplane. SEE ALSO: Give Yourself Some Business News FROM THE LYCOS NETWORK: Lycos Finance Stock Charts News Message Boards News Chat Rooms Tech Business News "Hitting one of those drones is not a lot to boast about. If it was shot down, the Iraqis probably did it with anti-aircraft guns and not a missile," said one official, who asked not to be identified and confirmed that the $3.2 million RQ-1B Predator had gone down in southern Iraq. Monday's crash came after the Pentagon warned of the growing sophistication of Baghdad's air defenses. It could be the first loss of a U.S. aircraft to Iraqi fire in a decade of aerial monitoring of "no-fly" zones over northern and southern Iraq. Iraq showed television film of wreckage and claimed it shot down the 27-foot-long Air Force reconnaissance plane near the oil-shipping port of Basra, about 300 miles southeast of Baghdad. Iraq's official press said on Tuesday that Baghdad had dealt Washington a blow by shooting down the plane. "This slap on America's ugly face was a surprise to its arrogant administration. The Americans will have to retire these kind of planes and stop them from harming our proud nation," said an editorial in al-Jumhuriya newspaper. Marine Corps Lt. Col. David Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman, said in Washington that it was not clear whether the crash was caused by ground fire or a mechanical malfunction -- and, in any case, was no indication of air defense sophistication. He and other Pentagon officials noted that the Predator, which transmits television pictures and other information back to base via satellite link, flies up to a maximum altitude of only 25,000 feet and at speeds up to only 140 mph. "At that altitude and speed, you don't even need radar to track it. You can just throw up anti-aircraft fire and hope for the best," said another Pentagon official, who asked not to be identified. A new version of the Predator is being developed that will fly at three times the altitude and more than twice the current speed. It also will be capable of carrying a load of up to 800 pounds, which could eventually include missiles. Defense analysts said the loss of the drone could be a publicity coup for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's growing efforts this year to down a U.S. or British warplane policing the "no-fly" zones. On Aug. 3, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Iraq had greatly improved its air defenses with fiber-optic links since U.S. and British planes pounded those links and other air defense targets south of Baghdad in February. About 50 U.S. and British jets, 20 of them attack planes, hit those defenses with precision-guided bombs and missiles again this month, and Lapan suggested that the raid was successful. "We think we did what we set out to do," he told Reuters, but declined to be more specific. Copyright � 2001 Reuters Limited. Have a comment on this article? Send it. ------------------------------------------------- This Discussion List is the follow-up for the old stopnato @listbot.com that has been shut down ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9spWA Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: [email protected] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
