Coalition says hundreds of surface-to-air missiles in Iraq

[Barrett808]

There are hundreds of shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles scattered around Iraq, a coalition official said Thursday on condition of anonymity.

The missiles have targeted coalition aircraft at least six or seven times since the official end of hostilities on May 1, the official told AFP.

However, the coalition tally is said to be far lower than the actual number, a humanitarian agency official told AFP.

There have been at least 19 surface-to-air missile attacks on planes flying into Baghdad international airport since May, the humanitarian official said, requesting anonymity.

The failure to secure the area around the airport has been one of the main reasons for the delay in the airport's opening for commercial travel, with the exception of chartered flights for diplomats, aid workers and journalists.

(more)

http://www.spacedaily.com/2003/031009144143.1zj3kmga.html

[Nottingham]

1. Is somebody getting nervous that we might get Nuked

in Iraq :nuke:

Thats where All our troops are!

[TreasonousBastard]

2. Yeah. So?

What's the point of stories like this? Of course they have SAMs. They have tanks, too, but tanks are big and easy to neutralize.

There was an army there, or has everyone forgotten. There should be vast amounts of small arms and light artillery over there cached away. I doubt any of our military thought they got it all by now.

[punpirate]

3. I find the...

... "a coalition official said Thursday on condition of anonymity" bit very funny, as if this were some dark secret. The thrust of this is a puff piece, meant to suggest that these hand-held rockets are somehow weapons of mass destruction--missiles.

Hundreds? I would have expected them in the thousands. An article a few weeks ago said they are going on the black market for the equivalent of $147 US.

And while I can understand why the prospect of being shot down in an airliner might be a good reason to keep the Baghdad airport closed to commercial traffic, I don't understand why it's a big deal--tourism is not exactly a growth industry in Iraq right now.

[Pale_Rider]

5. Talk about Iraqi restraint ...

... since they were fired off at our military folk when we invaded!

[Dr Fate]

4. What- the "coalition" actually exists?

In that case, mabey Bush can ask THEM for the $87 BILLION and additional troops...

If we have a "coalition", then why does Bush even bother with the UN?

I question the actual existence of any meaningful coalition. Its just a meaningless Bush/media propaganda term...

[loudnclear]

6. But these are NOT WMDs....

And we should know because our arms dealers and Israeli arms dealers sold them to the Iraqis.