Well, this sucks...
Iraqi television on Monday showed two men said to have been the U.S. crew of an Apache helicopter forced down during heavy fighting the night before in central Iraq. Gen. Tommy Franks, the U.S. war commander, confirmed that one helicopter did not return from its mission and that its two-man crew was missing. The two shown on Iraqi TV wore cream pilot overalls and did not speak to the camera but appeared confused. They turned their heads and looked in different directions as the camera filmed them. Iraq's state television later showed a collection of documents arrayed on the floor. They included what looked like ID cards and a VISA credit card. Iraq claimed Monday that it shot down two Apache helicopters and was holding the pilots prisoner. "A small number of peasants shot down two Apaches," Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf said earlier. "Perhaps we will show pictures of the pilots." Franks denied that a second chopper had been lost, or that any craft had been shot down by farmers. Iraqi state television showed pictures of one Apache helicopter in a grassy field. Men in Arab headdresses holding Kalashnikovs automatic rifles danced around the aircraft.
Has it been destroyed yet. Are we concerned about the assholes guarding it? We shouldn't be...
The station also aired pictures of two helmets apparently belonging to members of the helicopter's crew, as well as documents and other papers lying on the ground. |