What Does Saturday’s Chinook “Crash” And The Murky Details Of Its Aftermath Say About The War In Afghanistan? A Lot…

A Boeing Chinook helicopter (Antiwar.com)

A helicopter crash in Afghanistan on Saturday proved to be the deadliest single incident for American forces during the decade-long war there, killing 30 US troops — including many members of an elite Navy “SEAL” unit.

The story has received considerable attention from the American media and the political establishment, including the White House itself.  But specifics of how and why the chopper was downed remained murky, leading to new questions about the US mission in Afghanistan.

The official report from the US military and NATO has the American Chinook helicopter “crashing”  due to enemy fire; a rocket-propelled grenade fired from Taliban insurgents that had been battling other US troops in the area. 38 people in total died in the crash, 30 US forces and 8 Afghans.

The 30 U.S. troops and eight Afghans who died in a helicopter crash in eastern Afghanistan were on a mission targeting a Taliban leader when an insurgent with a rocket-propelled grenade reportedly fired on the chopper and shot it down, U.S.-led coalition said Monday.

Despite the magnitude of the loss and reasonable questions as to why Afghan “insurgents” are suddenly able to shoot  down military helicopters, the Pentagon insists that nothing has changed in the war. The largest single loss of American lives in the entire Afghan war may have just occurred, but US military officials insist they are winning the fight.

The mission in Afghanistan has not reached a “watershed” with the crash, one Pentagon spokesman said. US and NATO forces “have the Taliban on the run,” the spokesman believes, but “they are still going to inflict casualties…” ..

The military, our politicians,, our media, even our religious leaders; all will use — and have — Saturday’s helicopter crash as just one more reason to stay in Afghanistan. That those the died did so to “protect freedom,” or were “heroes.” As Ray McGovern, a former CIA analyst, points out on the website Common Dreams, such mythology masks the truth around both this single incident and the entire war itself.

The SEALs that died in that Chinook “died in vain,” McGovern writes.

Many of those preaching at American church services Sunday extolled as “heroes” the 30 American and 8 Afghan troops killed Saturday west of Kabul, when a helicopter on a night mission crashed, apparently after taking fire from Taliban forces. This week, the Fawning Corporate Media (FCM) can be expected to beat a steady drumbeat of “they shall not have died in vain.”

But they did. I know it is a hard truth, but they did die in vain.

As in the past, churches across the country will keep praising the fallen troops for protecting “our way of life,” and few can demur, given the tragic circumstances.

But, sadly, such accolades are, at best, misguided — at worst, dishonest. Most preachers do not have a clue as to what U.S. forces are doing in Afghanistan and why. Many prefer not to think about it. There are some who do know better, but virtually all in that category eventually opt to punt.

Specifics of the incident are also still in question, such as the location of the “attack.” The American chopper was downed in Wardak province, an area 100 miles outside of Kabul that has been a hotbed for US drone strikes, killing suspected “insurgents” as well as civilians, and antagonizing the local population.

As Antiwar.com reports, locals have accused Americans of committing “barbaric acts” that contribute to the “influence” of the Taliban in the region.

The same story also raises questions about the helicopter itself, the Boeing Chinook CH-47. There are reports that the Taliban has acquired some sort of “new weapon” to be used specifically against helicopters, and especially against slow giants like the Chinook. If that is the case, any hopes for US success in Afghanistan may be compromised given the importance of  air power to the prosecution of the war.

Now the Taliban is claiming a new weapon against the occupying forces’ helicopters, which if true, says a security expert, “would be a game changer.”

“Super weapon” or not, Boeing Chinooks have always been among the most vulnerable  pieces of air equipment in the US military. Part of the military’s aviation arsenal for decades, they have been used extensively in both Iraq and Afghanistan for their transport capabilities and large cargo capacity, the choppers, as was apparently the case in Saturday’s “crash,” are now being used in offensive campaigns and tactical missions.

The Christian Science Monitor compiled a brief history of the Chinook in the most recent American wars, including many instances of “close calls” and profound weaknesses with the basic operation of the helicopter. The “low and slow” landing style renders them vulnerable to attack and the kind of devastating result the US military says occurred over the weekend.

According to US officials, the Special Operations Chinook was on a mission targeting a Taliban leader in the Sayyidabad district of Afghanistan’s Wardak province. Reportedly the helicopter was fired upon by an insurgent with a rocket-propelled grenade launcher while it was bringing reinforcements in to a firefight that was already occurring.

Though fraught with risks, the Chinook has been repeatedly updated and retained in US military service. And that commitment has been especially lucrative for Boeing, the Chinook’s manufacturer. A new contract to deliver 25 Chinooks to the military was awarded to Boeing earlier this year, with a price tag of $528 million.