Taliban in first heat-seeking missile attack?

Question

Taliban militants have used a heat-seeking surface-to-air missile to attack a Western aircraft over Afghanistan for the first time.

The attack with a weapon believed to have been smuggled across the border with Iran represents a worrying increase in the capability of the militants which Western commanders had long feared.

See link - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=2245UQQCLG3ODQFIQMGCFGGAVCBQUIV0?xml=/news/2007/07/28/wafg128.xml

Question - What are your thoughts ?

Answer 1

My thoughts? Heat seekers are the least of our worries as they can be fooled!

The ones I worry about are the Stingers we sold to the Taliban to use on the Russians. They have been retro-engineered and are going to be used! You are not going to stop them!

The FBI was against the sale, but Reagan did it anyway! The CIA gave then the weapons!

"Yet, the CIA supplied hundreds of surface-to-air Stinger missiles to Afghan guerrillas fighting the former Soviet-backed regime in the late 1980s. It is estimated that between 50 to 100 missiles remain unaccounted for. Several years ago, the United States offered to buy back the remaining missiles for $80,000 each. None were reportedly sold.

Stinger missiles lock onto their targets using a radar-guided system, making them more effective than heat-seeking missiles, which are easily foiled by decoy flares."

http://english.people.com.cn/200212/05/eng20021205_107994.shtml

Answer 2

Most likely Iran's trying to make a quick buck and fight a proxy war against the US at the same time... because they know they're not quite ready for the real thing.

It's most likely not those old Stinger missiles everyone's been hearing so much about. They're decades old, their batteries are most likely flat and/or corroded and they lacked the maintenence ability easily afforded by the US. They should have sold back those missiles, they're useless now. It's not very plausible that they'd dig out those old Stingers and use them now, considering they didn't do so early in the invasion.

Answer 3

During the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan the Mujahadeen-Al-Khalq were downing Soviet Hind helicopters with U.S. made Stinger missiles. The SF Examiner once reported that over 20,000 were provided to the Mujahadeen and many still remain unaccounted for. I'm surprised theTaliban had to smuggle an Iranian one in. Must be hundreds and hundreds of Stingers lying around in caves in that country.

Answer 4

no easy answer to the quandary of the middle east! radical Muslims preach the destruction and over throw of all western society. so i don't understand why people are surprised when they hear about weapons and insurgents, crossing the borders into Iraq or Afghanistan. these countries are surrounded by Muslim countries that are overflowing with radicals that want to marter themselves by killing westerners. they don't seem to care if they kill troops or innocents, which ; in my opinion only makes them murderers. the western world needs to wake up. countries that believe they aren't involved, or that this doesn't concern them are making a very big mistake. if you're not a Muslim, or are, and don't follow the radical doctrine, you are a infidel and must die! right now the fight is in the middle east, tomorrow it may be in your back yard. maybe the world will wake up when they finally light off a nuke or bio-weapon in a major western city, and kill millions! but as usual what we will hear, will be what we heard after 9/11 "how could our government let this happen, why didn't they do something to protect us!" we should be pursuing these animals world wide, as Israel did the the Nazi war criminals.... exterminate with extreme prejudice! support the fight! and our troops! it's not just for oil, as some want you to believe. it's also for our way of life, which is what the terrorists want to take away!

Answer 5

Oh Telegraph! That's hardly the first time someone wasted their tribe status symbol on a coalition airplane (though unguided weapons shot do greatly outnumber the guided). Oh, and aircrews have no indication of being locked on (it's a passive sensor) unless they visually saw it tracking (not just passing close by, like all the article says). And there's no cockpit indication of the political affiliation of the shooter, unless all murderous %$#@!s in Afghanistan are nicknamed 'Taliban'.

Answer 6

We never accounted for hundreds of the Stinger missiles we gave to the Afghans to use against the Soviets. Maybe the Iranians got a few of them and are making copies.
Makes you wonder who you can trust and if the answer is nobody...

Answer 7

Yes.
What a shame that Democrats have all surrendered, and are now encouraging the Enemy.
Shameful People.

Answer 8

The sooner we Nuke Iran the better.