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August 22, 2007
14 G.I.'s Die in Iraq Helicopter Crash
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 7:04 a.m. ET
BAGHDAD (AP) -- A helicopter went down in northern Iraq on Wednesday,
killing all 14 U.S. soldiers aboard, the military said, the deadliest crash
since January 2005.
The military said initial indications showed the aircraft experienced a
mechanical problem and was not brought down by hostile fire, but the cause
of the crash was still under investigation.
The UH-60 Black Hawk was part of a pair of helicopters on a nighttime
operation when the crash occurred. The four crew members and 10 passengers
who perished were assigned to Task Force Lightning, the military said. It
did not release identities pending notification of relatives.
The U.S. military relies heavily on helicopters to avoid the threat of
ambushes and roadside bombs -- the deadliest weapon in the militants'
arsenal -- and dozens have crashed in accidents or been shot down.
The deadliest crash occurred on Jan. 26, 2005, when a CH-53 Sea Stallion
transport helicopter went down in a sandstorm in western Iraq, killing 31
U.S. troops.
Wednesday's deaths raised to at least 3,721 members of the U.S. military who
have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an
Associated Press count.
Meanwhile, a suicide truck bomber targeted a police agency in northern Iraq,
killing at least 19 people and wounding 26, police and hospital officials
said.
The attack occurred just before noon in Beiji, 155 miles north of Baghdad,
and many of the casualties were civilians, according to the officials.
Iraqi police and soldiers have frequently been targeted by militants seeking
to disrupt U.S.-led efforts to enable the forces to take over their own
security so foreign troops can go home. A bomb and small-arms attack against
a security post shared by police and U.S. paratroopers also killed 13 Iraqi
officers in Beiji in late June.
Jassim Saleh, 41, who lives some 500 yards away from the blast site, said he
saw an explosives-laden truck carrying stones strike the police station.
''It was a horrible scene. I can't describe it,'' he said. ''The bodies were
scattered everywhere. I was injured in my hand and a leg, but I took three
wounded people to the hospital in my car.''
With violence unrelenting, political pressure mounted for Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki to show progress in bringing Iraq's battling factions
together.
President Bush acknowledged his frustration with Iraqi leaders' inability to
bridge political divisions on Tuesday, but said only the Iraqi people can
decide whether to sideline the troubled prime minister.
''Clearly, the Iraqi government's got to do more,'' Bush said at the close
of a two-day North American summit with the leaders of Mexico and Canada.
The Sept. 15 deadline for Bush's next progress report to Congress is fast
approaching, leaving the president little time to show that his U.S. troop
buildup is succeeding in providing the enhanced security the Iraqi leaders
need to forge a unified way forward.
Al-Maliki, who has faced accusations of having a Shiite bias that has
alienated minority Sunnis, lashed out at the U.S. criticism on Wednesday,
saying no one has a right to put timetables on his elected government.
He blamed the U.S. presidential campaign for the recent tough words from the
Bush administration and from other American politicians.
''No one has the right to place timetables on the Iraq government. It was
elected by its people,'' he said at a news conference in Damascus at the end
of a three-day visit to Syria. ''Those who make such statements are bothered
by our visit to Syria. We will pay no attention. We care for our people and
our constitution and can find friends elsewhere.''
Without naming any American official, al-Maliki said some of the criticism
of him and his government was ''discourteous.''
U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker, co-author of the highly anticipated report to
Congress, also said Tuesday that Washington's blueprint for reconciliation
was insufficient to win back control of Iraq. Congressional benchmarks such
as laws to share oil revenue and reform security services don't tell the
whole story, he said Tuesday.
Crocker, who will present the report with military commander Gen. David
Petraeus, called Iraq's problems difficult but fixable, arguing for more
time for his diplomacy and operations by the bolstered American military
force.
''Failure to meet any of them (congressionally mandated benchmarks) does not
mean the definitive failure of the state or the society,'' Crocker said.
''Conversely, to make them all would not by any means mean that they've
turned the corner and it's a sun-dappled upland from here on in with peace
and harmony and background music. It's just a lot more complex than that.''
He echoed Bush's frustration with the lack of action by al-Maliki
government's on key legislative measures.
''Progress on national level issues has been extremely disappointing and
frustrating to all concerned -- to us, to Iraqis, to the Iraqi leadership
itself,'' Crocker said. But he added that the Shiite prime minister was
working ''in the shadow of a huge national trauma.''
While saying U.S. support was not a ''blank check,'' Crocker said Washington
would continue backing al-Maliki's government ''as it makes serious efforts
to achieve national reconciliation and deliver effective governance to the
people of Iraq.'' He stressed that it's not just al-Maliki, but ''the whole
government that has to perform here.''
14 G.I.'s Die in Iraq Helicopter Crash
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 7:04 a.m. ET
BAGHDAD (AP) -- A helicopter went down in northern Iraq on Wednesday,
killing all 14 U.S. soldiers aboard, the military said, the deadliest crash
since January 2005.
The military said initial indications showed the aircraft experienced a
mechanical problem and was not brought down by hostile fire, but the cause
of the crash was still under investigation.
The UH-60 Black Hawk was part of a pair of helicopters on a nighttime
operation when the crash occurred. The four crew members and 10 passengers
who perished were assigned to Task Force Lightning, the military said. It
did not release identities pending notification of relatives.
The U.S. military relies heavily on helicopters to avoid the threat of
ambushes and roadside bombs -- the deadliest weapon in the militants'
arsenal -- and dozens have crashed in accidents or been shot down.
The deadliest crash occurred on Jan. 26, 2005, when a CH-53 Sea Stallion
transport helicopter went down in a sandstorm in western Iraq, killing 31
U.S. troops.
Wednesday's deaths raised to at least 3,721 members of the U.S. military who
have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an
Associated Press count.
Meanwhile, a suicide truck bomber targeted a police agency in northern Iraq,
killing at least 19 people and wounding 26, police and hospital officials
said.
The attack occurred just before noon in Beiji, 155 miles north of Baghdad,
and many of the casualties were civilians, according to the officials.
Iraqi police and soldiers have frequently been targeted by militants seeking
to disrupt U.S.-led efforts to enable the forces to take over their own
security so foreign troops can go home. A bomb and small-arms attack against
a security post shared by police and U.S. paratroopers also killed 13 Iraqi
officers in Beiji in late June.
Jassim Saleh, 41, who lives some 500 yards away from the blast site, said he
saw an explosives-laden truck carrying stones strike the police station.
''It was a horrible scene. I can't describe it,'' he said. ''The bodies were
scattered everywhere. I was injured in my hand and a leg, but I took three
wounded people to the hospital in my car.''
With violence unrelenting, political pressure mounted for Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki to show progress in bringing Iraq's battling factions
together.
President Bush acknowledged his frustration with Iraqi leaders' inability to
bridge political divisions on Tuesday, but said only the Iraqi people can
decide whether to sideline the troubled prime minister.
''Clearly, the Iraqi government's got to do more,'' Bush said at the close
of a two-day North American summit with the leaders of Mexico and Canada.
The Sept. 15 deadline for Bush's next progress report to Congress is fast
approaching, leaving the president little time to show that his U.S. troop
buildup is succeeding in providing the enhanced security the Iraqi leaders
need to forge a unified way forward.
Al-Maliki, who has faced accusations of having a Shiite bias that has
alienated minority Sunnis, lashed out at the U.S. criticism on Wednesday,
saying no one has a right to put timetables on his elected government.
He blamed the U.S. presidential campaign for the recent tough words from the
Bush administration and from other American politicians.
''No one has the right to place timetables on the Iraq government. It was
elected by its people,'' he said at a news conference in Damascus at the end
of a three-day visit to Syria. ''Those who make such statements are bothered
by our visit to Syria. We will pay no attention. We care for our people and
our constitution and can find friends elsewhere.''
Without naming any American official, al-Maliki said some of the criticism
of him and his government was ''discourteous.''
U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker, co-author of the highly anticipated report to
Congress, also said Tuesday that Washington's blueprint for reconciliation
was insufficient to win back control of Iraq. Congressional benchmarks such
as laws to share oil revenue and reform security services don't tell the
whole story, he said Tuesday.
Crocker, who will present the report with military commander Gen. David
Petraeus, called Iraq's problems difficult but fixable, arguing for more
time for his diplomacy and operations by the bolstered American military
force.
''Failure to meet any of them (congressionally mandated benchmarks) does not
mean the definitive failure of the state or the society,'' Crocker said.
''Conversely, to make them all would not by any means mean that they've
turned the corner and it's a sun-dappled upland from here on in with peace
and harmony and background music. It's just a lot more complex than that.''
He echoed Bush's frustration with the lack of action by al-Maliki
government's on key legislative measures.
''Progress on national level issues has been extremely disappointing and
frustrating to all concerned -- to us, to Iraqis, to the Iraqi leadership
itself,'' Crocker said. But he added that the Shiite prime minister was
working ''in the shadow of a huge national trauma.''
While saying U.S. support was not a ''blank check,'' Crocker said Washington
would continue backing al-Maliki's government ''as it makes serious efforts
to achieve national reconciliation and deliver effective governance to the
people of Iraq.'' He stressed that it's not just al-Maliki, but ''the whole
government that has to perform here.''
