16 Killed In Afghan Helicopter Crash

[Hissyspit]

http://my.earthlink.net/article/top?guid=20060727/44c83a40_3ca6_15526200607271223047011

16 Killed in Afghan Helicopter Crash
By MATTHEW PENNINGTON (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
July 27, 2006 5:07 AM EDT
KABUL, Afghanistan - A helicopter crashed in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan, killing all 16 people on board, including at least two American civilians, officials said Thursday.

Afghan army and U.S.-led coalition troops have recovered 12 bodies and were searching for four more in the difficult, mountainous terrain where the civilian Mi-8 helicopter crashed on Wednesday, Col. Tom Collins, a coalition spokesman told reporters. Collins said those on board included at least two Americans. The Dutch military has said two of its personnel were also on board - the first fatalities among Dutch forces in Afghanistan.

- snip -

The Russian-made civilian helicopter crashed about 25 miles northeast of Khost city in a region where al-Qaida and Taliban militants are believed to be active.

Collins said there was no indication yet what caused the crash. The Dutch military said it appeared to be an accident but that officials had not ruled out the helicopter being shot down.

MORE

[Binka]

1. The Beat Goes On

Please stop the planet I need to get off.

[Lochloosa]

2. Good Morning....how are you doing?

B-)

[Binka]

3. I Am Taking This Really Hard

My children Callie & Ian are coming to Sicily in two weeks so that should help. Unfortunately Ben can't make it.

[Lochloosa]

6. It's tough to lose someone that close to you.

Sending all my love to you and your family.


Say hello to Callie for me.:evilgrin:

[cliss]

4. There's something strange about this situation

It's a Russian made civilian helicopter. It had 2 Americans (non-military) + 2 Dutch military. Who were the rest?

This article raises more questions than it answers.

[uppityperson]

7. I was wondering that also. what was this about?

[bemildred]

5. Wind shear, no doubt. nt

[Roland99]

8. Two American "civilians"?

[maddezmom]

9. kick

[MaineDem]

10. 3 Americans among dead in Afghan copter crash (contractor's family)

KABUL, Afghanistan (Reuters) -- The wife of an American contract worker and their two daughters were among at least 12 people killed when a civilian helicopter crashed in bad weather in southeast Afghanistan, media reports said.

The cause of Wednesday's crash was still being investigated, but military and civilian officials said bad flying conditions were the most likely reason the helicopter went down in a valley in rugged mountains near Khost.

Atlanta television station, WAGA-TV, said the wife and two daughters of an American contract worker were aboard the helicopter. The daughters were aged 17 and 21.

The three women were on their way to meet him in Khost before leaving for a family vacation, according to the station's Web site.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/07/28/afghan.chopper.crash.reut/index.html?section=cnn_topstories

[saigon68]

11. When you PLAY sometimes you PAY

I hope he likes all the money he made being an accessory to war crimes

[dipsydoodle]

13. ditto

x(

[Drum]

12. Avoiding this very thing---

family members dead in an area of armed conflict---should be the reason to avoid war or conclude it as soon as possible. That's the big motivator, isn't it? Avoid war to protect families, end hostilities to get back to your family. The armed forces get "leaves"...but for so-called civilian contractors to bring the family into the region so you can hook up for some playtime???

I think this logic is tempting our new breed of mercenaries/contractors/freedom-exporters, who look on worldwide strife as ongoing employment...economically, they don't want the gig to end, and in their comfy worldview think they can have the cake and eat it too. The whole mindset is screwy and nihilistic, and I wish to hell that my country would get out of this business (everybody else's business) and get back to taking care of its own.

I'm sorry to hear of the deaths, of course, but I think that vacay in the middle of our "Liberation, As-if" projects is a folly. Why not work for peace, and feel like you've earned a real vacation??

[saigon68]

14. They are greedy

And sometimes greed leads to a lot of bad things

In this case

IT DID

[stanwyck]

17. Remember how, right after we invaded Iraq,

the Bushies were going to hold big business meetings in Baghdad? Really. They had the venues scheduled. The expensive brochures were printed. The people were invited. It was "pigs at the trough" time for all who wanted to cash in on the "new" democratic Iraq.
Only. Those pesky terrorists kept killing people. And, apparently, even greedy American investors didn't want to make the trip. Those beheadings really put them off.
The disconnect here is just beyond comprehension.
Maybe if some of these chickenhawks would enlist and spend some time broiling in the sun trying to fight these invisible enemies they'd have a clue.
You're right. They just want to, as Mary Cheney said, "have their cake and eat it, too." As long as the price of that cake doesn't involve, gasp, actually being one of those troops they claim to support so much.
But, hey, that just doesn't pay enough. Why not work for one of those military contractors and rake in the big dough. While being protected by the grunts. Have your cake and eat it, too.

[Webster Green]

15. This sounds like one for the Darwin awards...

Bring the family over to the war zone for a little vacation...

WTF?!

[stanwyck]

16. Did this father/husband believe the Bushian

rhetoric to the extent that he put his wife and daughters at risk by bringing them into a war zone? Did he really believe that "freedom was on the march" and that the insurgency was in "its last throes"?
Does he not realize that this is just blather from people who are brave...from a far distance?
This news is incomprehensible to me.
My son, a Marine with two tours in Iraq, has a third tour coming up which could include Afghanistan. And he says that the returning Marines tell him Afghanistan is a disaster. There are too few troops there. So, they're incredibly vulnerable. The terrain is treacherous. And the insurgents are gaining more and more power.
And this father working for a military contractor has his wife and daughters fly into Afghanistan? Why not meet them somewhere else in Europe?
This is taking drinking the Kool-Aid to a preposterous level.