Iraqi aircraft found buried in desert

BBC ^ | 1 Aug 2003 | BBC

[RoboticMouse]

Iraqi aircraft 'buried in desert'

The planes might never fly again

US forces in Iraq have discovered dozens of Iraqi fighter aircraft buried in the desert, US officials have said.

A Pentagon official told the Associated Press news agency that several MiG-25s and Su-25 attack planes were found hidden at al-Taqqadum air base west of Baghdad.

The planes were unearthed by teams hunting for alleged weapons of mass destruction.

The discovery comes as America's weapons inspector in Iraq say they are making solid progress in the search for banned weapons the US says Saddam Hussein was hiding.

Poking out of sand

"Our guys have found 30-something brand new aircraft buried in the sand to deny us access to them," said Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Republican Porter Goss.

"These are craft we didn't know about," he said.

At least one of the MiGs was found with its tail fins poking out of the sand, the agency quoted the Pentagon official as saying.

It said many of the planes were buried with little protection and might never fly again.

The Iraqi air force, believed to have numbered around 300 fighter planes, was not mobilised during the US-led war with Iraq earlier this year.

It is thought Saddam Hussein believed the ageing aircraft would be no match for American firepower, and sought to conceal them instead.

[Paleo Conservative]

All your Iraqi aircraft are belong to us.

[Hodar]

Let's sell them to North Korea...

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Question for the Democrat Dwarfs: If the Iraqis buried whole airplanes, what the heck else might they have hidden under the sand ?

[Viet Vet in Augusta GA]

"alleged" weapons of mass destruction?
A new low, even for the Beeb.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

It's what's buried in the desert in Syria that I'm most interested in.

[LiteKeeper]

INTREP

[UncleDudley]

Let's sell them to North Korea...

You are a good republican. That is the proper Republican response. Good post.

[meenie]

A part of the Hussein underground network. Dig them out of the sand, blow them out and fly again. A very devious scheme.

[familyofman]

And, they were all pointed at Washington, DC. They posed a threat to us all.

[Athelas]

"Question for the Democrat Dwarfs: If the Iraqis buried whole airplanes, what the heck else might they have hidden under the sand ?"

Yes, precisely. Cripes if they've managed to hide a whole squadron of aircraft this long by burying them how hard is it to figure out why we haven't found the chem/bio weapons yet?

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I think you're on to something.

[SwinneySwitch]

New MiG-25s and Su-25 attack planes, ruined. Sad, wonder if the Russians will ever get paid for them now?:)

[New Horizon]

"The Iraqi air force, believed to have numbered around 300 fighter planes, was not mobilised during the US-led war with Iraq earlier this year.

Well that probably because they're buried in the friggin' sand.

[gridlock]

Hussein could not "win by winning", so he was forced to consider how he could "win by losing". His strategy was to lose quickly while dispersing his forces and hiding his weapons so that he would be in an able to sieze power again after the US lost interest and left the field. He preserved the bulk of his Republican Guard and most important forces after Gulf War I. He is trying to do so again.

This is why we were victims of what our military leadership calls "catastrophic success". We never had much of an opportunity to meet and destroy Iraqi forces in the field, because they cut and ran. Now we find buried weapons. All part of the plan.

The current campaign of pin-prick attacks against US forces is all part of this strategy. The aim is to raise US public opinion against the occupation so we leave before a viable Iraqi government, capable of withstanding the inevitable Saddamite/Baathist challenge, is in place.

The first object of strategy is to determine what you enemy needs, and then determine how you are going to deny it to him. In order to deny Saddam the opportunity to re-establish his regime, we need to root out the remnants of his forces, find his hidden weapons, and establish a strong, stable government in Iraq. In other words, we gotta keep on keepin' on with what we're doing.

[FreeAtlanta]

And the French, Germans, Russians, Democrats, peacniks, the willing accomplises in the Press, etc. wanted to give them even more time to prepare for our troops..... Let inspections work! yeah, right.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

I think you're on to something.

So is Colin Powell and GWB. They know. They've already put the word to Assad Jr.

"We know the goods are there and you're under a microscope monkey boy. Time to snap $h!t."

[Shermy]

"Brand new?"

Maybe purchased through the "Food for Oil" scam.

[evets]

Originally posted here and here and here

[wildbill]

What about all the planes that were supposedly flown to Iran during Gulf War 1. Could these be some of those that were secretly flown back into the country.

I don't think the Russians were selling them any new planes after 1991 were they?