edit> never mind.

You can defend your government, and military all you want. Bottom line is your pilots obviously have a problem of shooting first and asking questions later. You can have all the technology in the world but it will never solve human stupidity. I think it is actually time your nation actually train your troops, to use the technology they have in identify targets first before blowing them away. It is ridiculous and you know it. The US has more technology and should be more capable than any other country yet they are the worst at it. The only reason I know is they don't have a clue how to use all the technology they have to play with. Do your troops have post secondary education or all they all high school graduates?

[ 03-31-2003, 01:35 PM: Message edited by: pritchke ]

Me, too. [img]smile.gif[/img]

And what would you say about the two British Challenger tank crews who fired on each other and killed two of their own outside of Basra? They didn't know what they were doing either? They weren't trained? They didn't have a clue?

Friendly fire happens, and with five out of every six soldiers being American, obviously, more incidents will be attributed to Americans, but it happens to everyone.

Maybe but it no excuse for pilots being in an area were they are not supposed to be or not getting more information on their targets.

Ronn and MagiK:
Even though pritchke has too much bile and obvious ignorance of the qualifications of our pilots, I have to side with him on this one. Two of our forces in a gun-battle for 90 minutes??? They can't figure out in that time to stop shooting?? 90 minutes is an eternity in a firefight. And, both groups were most certainly in constant radio contact with base.

And the A-10's. At 500 ft. shooting at readily-identifiable ally targets? C'mon. What idiot would think such a caravan was even Iraqi?? Are they blind?? Plus, I realize the 5:1 ratio logic, Ronn, but let's tally up the results at the end. I'm willing to bet you that US FF attacks outnumber any allies by a factor of at least 12:1.

When you combine forces, yes chances for mishap do go up. Which is why you should be extra-extra careful. Our forces simply rely on technology to do the job too much, IMO, and have sometimes forgotten some basic common sense tactics.

Would an experienced soldier be able to tell the difference between the sounds of an Enfield SA-80 and an M-16 or M4 discharging? What about the difference between those and a Kaleshnikov?

Timber, I didn't say they weren't stupid actions. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Some are readily understandible while others are not.

In a firefight, during a sandstorm, while your buddies are all firing? I doubt it. I don't know for sure, but I doubt it.

Well, that's alot more reasonable, and much easier to agree with. [img]smile.gif[/img]