SEALs on rescue mission killed in Afghan crash

[Jolie Rouge]

Copter shot down, killing 30 US troops, 7 Afghans
By KIMBERLY DOZIER - PATRICK QUINN - Associated Press | AP – 4 hrs ago

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The 30 American service members — most of them elite Navy SEALs — who died when their helicopter was shot down had rushed to help Army Rangers who had come under fire, two U.S. officials said Sunday.

The heavy loss shows that clandestine tactics carry huge risks despite the huge success of the SEAL mission that killed Osama bin Laden more than three months ago. Most of the SEALs who died Saturday were from the same unit that killed bin Laden, although none of the men took part in that mission.

The U.S.-led coalition plans to rely more on special operations missions as it reduces the overall number of combat troops by the end of 2014.

This weekend, the rescue team had subdued attackers who had pinned down the Rangers and were departing in their Chinook helicopter when the aircraft was apparently hit, one of the officials said.

Thirty Americans and eight Afghans were killed in the crash, making it the deadliest single loss for U.S. forces in the decade-long war in Afghanistan. The Rangers, special operations forces who work regularly with the SEALs, secured the crash site in the Tangi Joy Zarin area of Wardak province, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) southwest of Kabul, the other official said.

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the event, as the investigation is still ongoing. The SEAL mission was first reported by CNN.

NATO was recovering the remains of the twin rotor Chinook helicopter. A current and a former U.S. official said the Americans included 22 SEALs, three Air Force combat controllers and a dog handler and his dog. The two spoke on condition of anonymity because military officials were still notifying the families of the dead.

All but two of the SEALs were from SEAL Team 6, the unit that killed bin Laden, U.S. officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

Eight Taliban fighters were also killed in the battle, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement.

Afghanistan has more U.S. special operations troops, about 10,000, than any other theater of war. The forces, often joined by Afghan troops, are among the most effective weapons in the coalition's arsenal, conducting surveillance, infiltration and capture missions and night raids.

From April to July this year, 2,832 special operations raids captured 2,941 insurgents and killed 834, twice as many as during the same time period last year, according to NATO.

SEALs, Rangers, and other special operations troops are expected to be the vanguard of the American military effort in Afghanistan as international military forces start pulling out. By the time combat troops plan to have left the country, the coalition will have handed control of security to the Afghan forces they have spent tens of billions of dollars arming and training.

Special operations troops are expected to remain in the country after 2014 for counterterrorism missions and advisory support. Just how many will remain has not yet been negotiated with the Afghan government, but the United States is considering from 5,000 to 20,000, far fewer than the 100,000 U.S. troops there now.

Special forces are frequently used to target insurgent commanders as part of an effort to force the Taliban's leadership to agree to a negotiated peace. The operations, mostly in the form of night raids, are often carried out by Afghan and coalition special operations forces.

Night raids have drawn criticism from human rights activists and infuriated Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who says they anger and alienate the Afghan population.

But NATO commanders have said the raids are safer for civilians than relatively imprecise airstrikes.

As U.S. forces removed the wreckage Sunday, nearby Afghan and NATO forces battled insurgents as they carried out clearing operations in the areas around the crash site, a region that is just a stone's throw from the capital. The province, which borders Kabul, has increasingly come under Taliban control in recent months — even as the U.S.-led coalition has begun handing over security for parts of Afghanistan over to the government of President Hamid Karzai.

"There have been a small number of limited engagements in the same district" as Saturday's helicopter crash, NATO said in a statement. "However those clashes have not been in the direct vicinity of the crash site. As of now, we have no reporting to indicate any coalition casualties resulting from these engagements."

http://news.yahoo.com/seals-rescue-mission-killed-afghan-crash-190240151.html

[Jolie Rouge]

Troops killed in Afghan copter crash are remembered as heroes
By Zachary Roth - Senior National Affairs Reporter | The Lookout – 3 hrs ago

When a U.S. helicopter crashed in Afghanistan Saturday morning, killing 30 American servicemen, it was the single largest loss of American lives since the Afghan conflict began a decade ago. Two days later, some key details of that tragedy are emerging.

The Chinook chopper was on a mission to aid U.S. Army Rangers, who were taking fire from Afghan insurgents in a mountainous area in the eastern part of the country. Profiles of some of the men killed make it clear that for them, sacrificing to help others came naturally.

Robert James Reeves and Jonas Kelsall had been friends since their freshman year of high school in Shreveport, Louisiana--classmates have described them as inseparable. Like 20 of the other servicemen killed in the crash, both men served on the same elite Navy unit, SEAL Team 6, that killed Osama bin Laden in May.

Reeves, 32, was a star soccer and lacrosse player, his father, James Reeves, told the New York Times. "It had never been obvious to me that he was going to choose a military career," James Reeves said. "It is very difficult to make it on these SEAL teams. But that was where he knew he needed to be."

The younger Reeves was no stranger to life-threatening situations. He had been deployed to war zones a dozen times since the 9/11 attacks, and had earned four Bronze Stars, each with a "V Device" for valor. At a Christmas reunion with his family in Shreveport--the last time he saw them--Reeves didn't talk about the nature of his work, in keeping with the Navy SEAL code of discretion.

Also killed in the crash was Aaron Vaughn, 30, a Navy SEAL from Tennessee, whose wife, Kimberly, told CNN that her husband "wouldn't want to leave this Earth any other way than how he did"--that is, by sacrificing for his country. "He loved his job," Kimberly Vaughn, a former Washington Redskins cheerleader, added. "There was no way--even if you could tell him that this would have happened he would have done it anyway. All those men are like that. They're selfless."

She said the pair had spoken by phone just hours before his final mission. "We got to tell each other we loved each other, so it was a great conversation to have."

Meanwhile, Patrick Hamburger, a 30-year-old sergeant from Nebraska, was planning to propose to his girlfriend when he got home from what was his first mission, his brother Chris told the AP. Patrick, who had been in Afghanistan just two weeks, was helping her to raise a daughter from a previous relationship, as well as the couple's own 2-year-old daughter.

John Brown, an Air Force technical sergeant from Arkansas, was described by his mother as a "gentle giant" who "just loved anything physical, anything athletic." When she wanted to have a heart-to-heart with her son, she said, she would go outside and shoot hoops with him.

And Michael Strange, 25, from Philadelphia, loved scuba diving, snowboarding, and surfing. After he joined the Navy SEALs, he reassured his worried mother that he'd be OK. "He wasn't supposed to die this young. He was supposed to be safe," Elizabeth Strange said. "And he told me that and I believed him. I shouldn't have believed him, because I know better. He would say 'Mom, don't be ridiculous and worry so much. I'm safe.' "

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/troops-killed-afghan-copter-crash-remembered-heroes-164031072.html

[Jolie Rouge]

US helicopter crashed in Taliban trap: Afghan official
By Sabawoon Amarkhail | AFP – 7 hrs ago

http://news.yahoo.com/us-helicopter-shot-down-taliban-trap-afghan-official-070456126.html

The Taliban lured US forces into an elaborate trap to shoot down their helicopter, killing 30 American troops in the deadliest such incident of the war, an Afghan official said Monday.

US President Barack Obama pledged that the incident -- which killed 38 people -- would not keep foreign forces from prevailing in Afghanistan, and the Pentagon called the downing of the Chinook a "one-off" that would not alter US strategy.

The late Friday attack marked the biggest single loss of life for American and NATO forces since the US-led invasion of Afghanistan toppled the Taliban in late 2001, shortly after the September 11 attacks.

The loss of the Chinook during an anti-Taliban operation southwest of Kabul dealt a blow to elite US special forces, which had 25 members on board -- 22 US Navy SEAL commandos and three Air Force Special Operations Forces.

Five US Army personnel, seven Afghan commandos and an interpreter also died.

A senior Afghan government official told AFP on condition of anonymity that Taliban commander Qari Tahir lured US forces to the scene by tipping them off that a Taliban meeting was taking place.

He also said four Pakistanis helped Tahir carry out the strike.

"Now it's confirmed that the helicopter was shot down and it was a trap that was set by a Taliban commander," said the official, citing intelligence gathered from the area.

"The Taliban knew which route the helicopter would take," he continued.

"That's the only route, so they took position on the either side of the valley on mountains and as the helicopter approached, they attacked it with rockets and other modern weapons. It was brought down by multiple shots."

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to discuss the issue, also said President Hamid Karzai's US-backed government "thinks" the attack was retaliation for the May killing of Osama bin Laden.

The Taliban themselves did not make such an assertion on claiming responsibility for the attack, which took place in the Taliban-infested Sayd Abad district of Wardak province.

In Washington, Obama said the loss of the 30 American troops would motivate their colleagues.

"I know that our troops will continue the hard work of transitioning to a stronger Afghan government and ensuring that Afghanistan is not a safe haven for terrorists. We will press on and succeed," the US president said.

Colonel Dave Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman, said he would "caution people against reading too much into a single combat incident."

"At this point, it's a one-off incident," he told reporters, adding it did not amount to "any kind of watershed or trend."

"We still have the Taliban on the run. We've reversed the momentum that they had but they're still going to inflict casualties," Lapan said.

When questioned about whether the attack was linked to a trap laid by a Taliban commander, the militia's spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said: "We have used various tactics over the past 10 years. This could also be a tactic."

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said the cause of the crash was still being investigated but issued a statement giving details of the moments before the fatal incident.

"The operation began as a security search for a Taliban leader responsible for insurgent operations in the nearby Tangi Valley," it said.

The first wave of ISAF ground troops then exchanged fire with insurgents, killing several of them.

"As the insurgents continued to fire, the combined force on the ground requested additional forces to assist the operation," the statement added.

"Those additional personnel were inbound to the scene when the CH-47 (Chinook) carrying them crashed, killing all on board."

Afghan officials said an insurgent rocket downed the helicopter, which was said to have broken into several parts after being hit.

In eastern Afghanistan on Monday, another helicopter made a "hard landing" in Paktya province, although no one was injured and there were no reports of insurgent fire, ISAF said.

There are currently around 140,000 foreign soldiers in Afghanistan, including about 100,000 US troops.

All international combat troops are due to leave by the end of 2014, but intense violence in recent months, including a series of assassinations in the south, has raised questions about the capability of Afghan forces.

[Explorer 4x4'r]

IMO

I don't believe any of this.
(I will leave it at that)

[Jolie Rouge]

You don't beleive - what ? That a copter went down? That brave men died ? That it was a trap ? That it was retaliation for the SEAL attack on Osama ?

[Jolie Rouge]

What happened on night of deadly Afghanistan helicopter crash?
By Paul Tait | Reuters – 6 hrs ago

KABUL (Reuters) - Late last Friday night, special forces troops from the NATO-led coalition launched an operation to capture a Taliban leader in an inaccessible valley southwest of Kabul.

A few hours later 38 troops -- 30 of them Americans -- lay dead in a transport helicopter destroyed in the worst single incident suffered by foreign forces in 10 years of war in Afghanistan.

Little, if any, information was available soon after the crash, mainly because "a cone of silence had been ordered from the top," one senior military official said.

Reuters has been able to reconstruct a clearer picture of the circumstances of the crash after interviews with officials from the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan and the U.S. military.

Unless identified, all spoke on condition of anonymity because investigations are still being carried out.

The disaster unfolded after an ISAF Special Operations Command (SOC) team that included at least some U.S. Rangers began a raid in the Tangi valley in central Maidan Wardak province under darkness late Friday.

Typically carried out in conjunction with Afghan soldiers, "night raids" anger ordinary Afghans who complain they do not respect their privacy or Islamic culture. However, they are one of the most successful tactics used by foreign troops hunting insurgents who hide among Afghan civilians.

Only 80 km (50 miles) southwest of Kabul, the valley is ringed by rugged mountains. Rocky outcrops are dotted around the surprisingly lush valley, making it easy for insurgents to hide, monitor troop movements and control access to the valley.

There are a couple of sparse settlements, with outlying compounds near narrow waterways that snake through the valley.

Despite -- or because of -- the valley's proximity to the capital, it has long been a hub for insurgents. The Taliban, the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani network and others are active in one of central Afghanistan's most dangerous areas.

An earlier SOC mission had killed Taliban cell leader Din Mohammad and Friday's mission targeted Mullah Mohibullah, who led a network of 12 fighters in the Tangi valley.

UNDER FIRE

"It was a capture operation, a standard night operation," one senior ISAF official said.

As the SOC team moved through the valley, they soon saw insurgents armed with AK-47 assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers, the most common weapons used by insurgent foot soldiers for their ease of use, maintenance and resupply.

Military officials in Kabul say six members of Mohibullah's network had already been killed as the SOC team engaged them. The Taliban said Saturday that eight of its fighters had been killed during the exchange.

That firefight is believed to have taken place around one of the compounds in the valley.

"The ground force was assaulting the objective and were in contact with the insurgents," another military official told Reuters, adding that a small number of Taliban fighters soon broke away from the main group.

At that point, very early Saturday, the SOC ground team called in what ISAF describes as an "Immediate Reaction Force" (IRF), a standby unit.

An IRF is different from a Quick Reaction Force, emergency units that have been deployed in response to "spectacular" attacks by insurgents in Kabul and elsewhere.

Despite widespread speculation to the contrary, that means the extra force called in to assist the ground team was not sent on a "rescue" mission. Neither was it caught in any kind of elaborate Taliban trap.

"A group started breaking away and fleeing," the second military official said. "That's when they called in the IRF, to come in and get those guys."

Military officials have said that, under such circumstances, it is not unusual for insurgent leaders to break off from an engagement and leave behind "low-level fighters."

"That's when the helicopter coming in got hit," one said.

Several military and diplomatic officials have said it appeared the devastating death toll -- 30 U.S. troops, seven Afghan commandos and an Afghan interpreter -- was the result of nothing more than a lucky shot.

"It just has to be the right angle, the right shot," one said.

ISAF says insurgents had been using RPGs during the initial engagement and that the helicopter had been fired on, but still refers to the incident as a crash.

"While it has not been determined if enemy fire was the sole reason for the helicopter crash, it did take fire from several insurgent locations on its approach," ISAF said.

While it is not unusual for rocket-propelled grenades -- normally an anti-tank weapon -- to hit helicopters, it is extremely rare for them to actually bring one down.

Coalition officials have effectively ruled out that the helicopter was brought down by anything more sophisticated than an RPG launcher. That dispels fears the Taliban had suddenly acquired more sophisticated weapons such as the Stinger missiles used to such devastating effect by mujahideen fighters against Soviet aircraft during the occupation of the 1980s.

RPGs have an effective range of about 300 metres, although officials in Kabul say the shot that downed the Chinook would have to have been fired well within 100 metres of its target.

"The shot could have come from a low angle, or even from above the helicopter," one military official said.

What is not known for sure now is whether the helicopter caught fire or exploded, or whether it fell from any considerable height. Officials acknowledge that the destruction was devastating, something supported by the fact it took about four days to gather all of the wreckage and remains.

"Whether it was a fire or if it exploded, it was catastrophic," another military official said.

"It's a bloody big target, and a slow-moving target."

As soon as the helicopter crashed, the SOC ground troops rushed to the secure the scene. It now appears Mohibullah and his remaining fighters then escaped.

Mohibullah and the unidentified man who fired the shot at the helicopter attempted to flee the country, ISAF said, most likely to Pakistan, but were tracked to a wooded area in a nearby district. Both were killed by an air strike Tuesday, ISAF said.

Questions have been asked in the United States why the second unit -- which consisted of 25 members of the Navy's Seal Team 6 -- was traveling in a U.S. Army CH-47 instead of a more sophisticated MH-47 more commonly used by special forces.

Part of that explanation might lie in the fact it was not the primary unit used in the raid and was only on standby.

http://news.yahoo.com/happened-night-afghanistan-helicopter-crash-111914547.html

[Jolie Rouge]

You don't beleive - what ? That a copter went down? That brave men died ? That it was a trap ? That it was retaliation for the SEAL attack on Osama ?

I'm sorry - reading this back - it looks rather snarky, which is not how it was intended. Mea Culpa. My nephew just got back and I have friends that are still "in the sandbox"

[Jolie Rouge]

White House photo sparks protest
By Lolita C. Baldor Associated Press / August 10, 2011

WASHINGTON—A White House photographer was allowed to take and widely distribute a photo from the ceremony Tuesday for the return of the remains of 30 American troops killed in a weekend helicopter crash in Afghanistan despite the Pentagon's claim that any public depiction of the scene would violate the wishes of bereaved families.

Tweet Be the first to Tweet this!ShareThis News media coverage of the ceremony had been banned by the Pentagon over the objections of several news organizations.

Pentagon officials had said that because 19 of 30 of the American families of the dead had objected to media coverage of the remains coming off a plane at Dover Air Force Base, no images could be taken. In addition, the Pentagon rejected media requests to take photos that showed officials at the ceremony but did not depict caskets.

President Barack Obama attended the ceremony, called a "dignified transfer," for those killed in the worst single loss of the nearly 10-year war. An official White House photo of a saluting Obama was distributed to news media and published widely. It also was posted on the White House website as the "Photo of the Day." It showed Obama and other officials in silhouette and did not depict caskets.

Doug Wilson, head of public affairs at the Pentagon, said the department did not know the White House photographer was present and had no idea a photo of the event was being released until it became public. He said the photographers who routinely travel with the defense secretary and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff were not allowed to go to the event, and no official Pentagon photos were taken or released.

The Associated Press did not transmit the White House photo to its customers, in accordance with its policy of refusing government handout images of events it believes the media should have access to.

When asked about the photo Wednesday, White House spokesman Jay Carney said the picture was carefully taken so that it did not show the cases containing remains.

"The White House routinely releases photos taken by the White House photographers in specific circumstances where it would be inappropriate to include members of the media," Carney said. "In this case, the White House released the photo, in the interests of transparency, so that the American people could have as much insight as possible into this historic and sobering event."

Under a Pentagon policy set in 2009, media coverage at the Dover base is allowed only when family members of the war dead approve. In the case of multiple sets of remains returning as a group, photographers take pictures of those approved caskets only and are ushered away before the remains of any troops whose families declined coverage are brought out of the plane.

The Pentagon said that in this case no family could give permission because any given case could contain the remains of troops whose families did not want coverage. The Pentagon said that during initial notification of next of kin, 19 of the 30 families said they did not want media coverage.

The AP and other media organizations argued that images could be taken of the tarmac, plane or dignitaries that would depict the occasion without showing a casket.

The base in Delaware serves as the entry point for all remains of U.S. troops killed overseas.

The Pentagon has said it expects to identify all 38 people who died, 30 U.S. troops and eight Afghans, and will return their remains to families for burial. The Pentagon planned to release the names of all Americans who died on Thursday, after an internal debate over whether doing so might endanger families of the SEAL Team 6 troops. Other members of that same elite special operations team killed Osama bin Laden in May.

Under the Pentagon policy spelled out in March 2009, the option to allow media access is explained to family members when they are notified of their loved one's death, and "primary next of kin will make the family decision regarding media access to dignified transfers at Dover."

The AP has covered every ceremony in which a family has agreed to coverage since the Pentagon lifted a total ban on media coverage at Dover in 2009, a total of 68 ceremonies this year at Dover through June 30.

http://www.boston.com/ae/media/articles/2011/08/10/white_house_photo_sparks_protest/

[Jolie Rouge]

Muslim cleric invited to pray over fallen SEALs damns them during service
By Jessica Chasmar ` The Washington Times - Thursday, May 9, 2013

The families of Navy SEALs killed in an August 2011 shoot-down of a helicopter in Afghanistan spoke at a press conference Thursday morning, citing a number of grievances, including an allegation that the Pentagon invited a Muslim cleric who “disparaged in Arabic the memory of these servicemen.”

In addition to blasting the Obama administration for the mission and for an official investigation they deemed a cover-up, the families complained that “military brass, while prohibiting any mention of a Judeo-Christian God, invited a Muslim cleric to the funeral for the fallen Navy SEAL Team VI heroes who disparaged in Arabic the memory of these servicemen by damning them as infidels to Allah.”

During the news conference, attorney Larry Klayman who is representing the grieving parents showed a video with audio of the prayer and a translation that scrolled over the screen.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/may/9/report-muslim-cleric-invited-pray-over-fallen-seal/#.UY2Y3Br4NFQ.facebook#ixzz2SzyUtaDn


SEALs’ families hit 2011 Afghan mission in which sons were killed; deem probe a cover-up
By Rowan Scarborough - The Washington Times Thursday, May 9, 2013

The families of Navy SEALs killed in an August 2011 downing of a helicopter in Afghanistan came forward Thursday to blast the U.S. command and the Obama administration for the mission and to call for an official investigation into what they deem a whitewash.

They also rebuked the White House for its extensive leaking of details of the Osama bin Laden raid in May 2011. Identifying the raiders as the secretive SEAL Team 6 put a target on the heads of the members of the doomed mission in Afghanistan, the parents said.

They also said the CH-47 Chinook helicopter used in the mission had no gunship escort and no cover when it was attempting to land at 2 a.m. that Aug. 6. Taliban on a rooftop shot down the helicopter with a rocket-propelled grenade.

All 38 onboard died in the fiery crash. The casualties included 17 SEALs, making it one of the elite unit’s worst losses in combat. The hastily planned mission was intended to aid 47 Army Rangers in the Tangi Valley, even though the Rangers controlled the battle zone.

The groups that organized the news conference Thursday at the National Press Club said a Muslim cleric chosen by the U.S. command to speak at a memorial service insulted the fallen. According to an English translation of a video of the service, the cleric condemned the dead to hell and mocked “the God of Moses.”

“We demand to know who made the call to send our sons into hostile territory where evidence proves a shootdown attempt had been in full force for weeks and in less-than-adequate, antiquated air frames documented to be in very poor condition,” said Karen Vaughn, whose Navy SEAL son, Aaron, was killed.

“We also discovered that [the Chinook] entered the battle zone that night completely unescorted with no pre-assault fire,” Ms. Vaughn said. “We were told pre-assault fire damaged our efforts to win the hearts and minds of our enemy. … The operation was spun up with such urgency that many mistakes were made.”

A Pentagon spokesman issued a statement:


“First, I want to say that we share in the grief of all of the families who lost their loved ones. The loss of 38 U.S. and Afghan military personnel was a tragic loss during a difficult campaign. The 30 U.S. casualties represent the diversity and talent of America and its military; these warriors served in three services (Army, Navy, and Air Force), in special operations and conventional units, and represented Reserve and active-duty units from 20 states.”

The spokesman noted that the official investigation “found that the tactics employed in the mission were consistent with previous missions.”

The families noted that Afghan security forces were closely involved in planning the mission, yet no one appears as having been interviewed in the military’s official investigative records given to relatives.

The family members suggested that these insiders leaked information about the mission to the Taliban, given the fact that the enemy happened to be stationed near the landing zone on a roof with rocket-propelled grenades.

“[They] were positioned in a tower in a building at the perfect place and the exact time to launch an attack on the CH-47 when it was most vulnerable,” said Doug Hamburger, father of Army National GuardSgt. Patrick Hamburger, a gunner and flight engineer. “How can anyone justify putting our troops in that type of danger? “It was not a thorough investigation. It’s a shame that we as parents have to demand a congressional investigation to find out answers.”

Charles Strange’s son, Michael, was a SEAL code-breaker on the mission that night.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/may/9/seals-families-hit-2011-afghan-mission/#ixzz2SzzenFxV

[Jolie Rouge]

Are you all aware of this scandal about the Members of Seal team 6, the team that took out Bin Laden, and Obama and Biden outed the classified information when they bragged about the operation. One guy called his wife an told her to remove their Facebook page and all information on the internet because their lives were in danger after our Pres and Vice Pres released their information. They need to be fired for leaking classified information.

3 months later in an operation called "Extortion 17" 15 members of Seal Team 6 were in a chopper that was shot down in Afghan. It was discovered false information had been given to the military in an effort to get the members of Team 6. The Six Afghani Military forces scheduled to accompany them on the operation were changed out just before the flight. No one knows who gave the orders for those six men to be relieved and six other Afghani soldiers were killed in the same crash. Makes you wonder if someone or all of the other 6 Afghani's released the information when Seal Team 6 was assigned to that operation.

Some of the Family members held a press conference on May 9th to make American's aware of another cover up. I discovered this information when looking into classified information Obama and Biden leaked. I vaguely remember hearing about how the members of Seal Team 6 were killed when they were shot down. I thought it was quite odd that these particular guys were shot down. Now it all makes sense.

http://beforeitsnews.com/opinion-conservative/2013/05/video-navy-seal-team-vi-families-press-conference-extortion-17-to-benghazi-to-obama-2638158.html


Video- Navy SEAL Team VI Families’ Press Conference: Extortion 17 to Benghazi to Obama

Thursday, May 9, 2013 11:24

The press release published before the press conference by now deceased Navy 6 SEAL families, is below and then the nearly three hour event, including interviews, then family members speaking, will be below that.


(Washington, D.C.). Three families of Navy SEAL Team VI special forces servicemen, along with one family of an Army National Guardsman, will appear at a press conference on May 9, 2013, to disclose never before revealed information about how and why their sons along with 26 others died in a fatal helicopter crash in Afghanistan on August 6, 2011, just a few months after the successful raid on the compound of Osama Bin Laden that resulted in the master terrorist’s death.

Accompanying the families of these dead Navy SEAL Team VI special operations servicemen will be retired military experts verifying their accounts of how and why the government is as much responsible for the deaths of their sons as is the Taliban.

The areas of inquiry at the press conference will include but not be limited to:

1. How President Obama and Vice President Biden, having disclosed on
May 4, 2011, that Navy Seal Team VI carried out the successful raid on
Bin Laden’s compound resulting in the master terrorist’s death, put a
retaliatory target on the backs of the fallen heroes.

2. How and why high-level military officials sent these Navy SEAL Team
VI heroes into battle without special operations aviation and proper air
support.

3. How and why middle-level military brass carries out too many
ill-prepared missions to boost their standing with top-level military
brass and the Commander-in-Chief in order that they can be promoted.

4. How the military restricts special operations servicemen and others
from engaging in timely return fire when fired upon by the Taliban and
other terrorist groups and interests, thus jeopardizing the servicemen’s
lives.

5. How and why the denial of requested pre-assault fire may have
contributed to the shoot down of the Navy SEAL Team VI helicopter and
the death of these special operations servicemen.

6. How Afghani forces accompanying the Navy SEAL Team VI servicemen on
the helicopter were not properly vetted and how they possibly disclosed
classified information to the Taliban about the mission, resulting in
the shoot down of the helicopter.

7. How military brass, while prohibiting any mention of a
Judeo-Christian God, invited a Muslim cleric to the funeral for the
fallen Navy SEAL Team VI heroes who disparaged in Arabic the memory of
these servicemen by damning them as infidels to Allah. A video of the
Muslim cleric’s “prayer” will be shown with a certified translation.

“This press conference takes on special significance given that our government has over the last twelve years since September 11th committed brave American servicemen to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that, in large part as a result of politics, were poorly conceived of and implemented, resulting in the deaths of thousands and the maiming of tens of thousands of our brave heroes. To make matters even worse, America has effectively lost these wars,” stated Larry Klayman, legal counsel for the families.

[WATCH]- Extortion 17 to Benghazi to Obama http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqtJrJ40Cio&feature=player_embedded

Source: http://wwwwakeupamericans-spree.blogspot.com/2013/05/video-navy-seal-team-vi-families-press.html

[Jolie Rouge]

See also : http://www.bigbigforums.com/news-information/664178-seal-team-six-raid-osama-bin-laden.html http://www.bigbigforums.com/news-information/658595-navy-seal-team-6-pulls-off-daring-rescue.html http://www.bigbigforums.com/news-information/664334-seal-team-six-celebrates-obama-suffers-sins-docudrama.html

[Jolie Rouge]

Three years ago today, Extortion 17 was shot down, and America suffered the single biggest loss of SEAL special operators.
Will we ever learn the truth? Not from this administration.

I hope you'll watch and share this video: http://allenbwest.com/2014/08/3-years-shoot-extortion-17-still-many-unanswered-questions/

[Jolie Rouge]

Obama Dismisses Al-Qaeda Resurgence: They’re JV
Jan. 20, 2014 7:45am Sharona Schwartz

In a wide-ranging interview with the New Yorker, President Barack Obama compared Al-Qaeda-linked militants in Iraq and Syria to junior varsity basketball players, downplaying their threat as small-league. He also shared what he thought were the chances of reaching Middle East peace agreements. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2014/01/27/140127fa_fact_remnick?currentPage=all

New Yorker editor David Remnick pointed out to the president that the Al Qaeda flag is now seen flying in Falluja in Iraq and in certain locations in Syria, and thus the terrorist group has not been “decimated” as Obama had said during his 2012 reelection campaign.

“The analogy we use around here sometimes, and I think is accurate, is if a jayvee team puts on Lakers uniforms that doesn’t make them Kobe Bryant,” Obama told Remnick. “I think there is a distinction between the capacity and reach of a bin Laden and a network that is actively planning major terrorist plots against the homeland versus jihadists who are engaged in various local power struggles and disputes, often sectarian.”

Remnick characterized Obama’s analogy as “uncharacteristically flip.”

While the New Yorker referred to the initials for junior varsity as “jayvee,” it is more commonly written as “JV.”

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/01/20/obama-dismisses-al-qaeda-resurgence-theyre-jv/#


‘You, Sir, Are the JV Team’:
Open Letter from Parents of Slain Navy SEAL Rebukes President Obama
By Kyle Becker 1 day ago

The parents of slain Navy SEAL member Aaron Carson Vaughn have reacted publicly to the spectacle of President Obama giving a press conference shortly after the brutal beheading of American photojournalist James Foley, only to depart hastily to the golf course (instead of to a war room).

In an open letter published at the World Tribune http://www.worldtribune.com/2014/08/27/letter-parents-aaron-carson-vaughn-seal-team-vi-please-resign-mr-president/ (via BizPacReview http://www.bizpacreview.com/2014/09/02/resign-now-parents-of-slain-navy-seal-annihilate-cowardly-obama-you-sir-are-the-jv-team-142814 ) the grieving parents excoriated the president for his lack of leadership:


As Commander-in-Chief, your actions — or lack thereof — Mr. President, cost lives. As you bumble about in your golf cart, slapping on a happy face and fist-pounding your buddies, your cowardly lack of leadership has left a gaping hole — not only in America’s security — but the security of the entire globe. Your message has come across loud and clear, sir: You are not up to this job. You know it. We know it. The world knows it.

Please vacate the people’s house and allow a man or woman of courage and substance to seize the reigns of this out-of-control thug-fest and regain the balance we, America, have provided throughout our great history.

Thanks to your “leadership” from whatever multi-million dollar vacation you happen to be on at any given moment, the world is in chaos. What’s been gained, you’ve lost. What’s been lost, you’ve decimated. You’ve demolished our ability to hold the trust of allies. You’ve made a mockery of the title “President.” And you’ve betrayed the nation for which my son and over 1.3 million others have sacrificed their very lives.


http://static.ijreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Aaron-2009-2010-Deployment_606.jpg?2e4bfb
Image of Aaron Carson Vaughn courtesy of the Vaughn family via WJLA

The parents, Billy and Karen Vaughn, put into context why their son became a Navy SEAL:



Many times over the past three years, I have been asked what drove my son to choose his particular career. What made him want to be a Navy SEAL? My answer is simple.

Aaron Vaughn was a man who possessed the courage to acknowledge evil. And evil, once truly acknowledged, demands response. Perhaps this is why so few are willing to look it in the eye. It is much simpler — much safer — to look the other way.

http://static.ijreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/AV-1024x557.jpg?2e4bfb
Image of Aaron Carson Vaughn
via Molon Labe Industries.

Aaron Carson Vaughn was killed in action when a CH47D Chinook military helicopter transporting him and 21 other SEALS was shot down in eastern Afghanistan in August 2011. Significantly, the Vaughns express the real danger posed from the U.S. being led into decline:


Never in my lifetime have I witnessed such despair and such growing fear that the world’s last best hope, America, has finally been dismantled. Perhaps the better word is transformed — fundamentally transformed. Come to think of it, it’s become difficult — if not impossible — to believe things haven’t gone exactly as you planned, Mr. President.

Amazingly, in five short years, your administration has lurched from one disaster to another. You spearheaded the ambitious rush to end the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan — with no plan on how to do so effectively. Also, the release of “the Taliban five” in exchange for one American — without consulting Congress — is also on your shoulders.

You have been at the helm during unprecedented national security leaks — including, but not limited to the outing of SEAL Team VI on the Bin laden raid, the outing of the Pakistani doctor who provided the intelligence for that raid, the outing of Afghanistan’s CIA station chief, and the outing of your personal “kill list” to make you look tough. In addition, 75 percent of American deaths in Afghanistan and 83 percent of Americans-wounded-in-action have occurred on your watch, according to http://www.icasualties.org.

http://static.ijreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Aaron_Vaughn-1024x768.jpg?2e4bfb
Image of Navy SEAL Aaron Carson Vaughn
via Molon Labe Industries.

Finally, the Vaughns sum up what they think of the president’s leadership with a remark alluding to his comment about the terrorist army ISIS being a supposed “JV team“: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/01/20/obama-dismisses-al-qaeda-resurgence-theyre-jv/


You, sir, are the JV team. It’s time for you to step down and allow a true leader to restore our honor and protect our sons and daughters.

America has always been exceptional. And she will be again. You, Mr. President, are a bump in our road.

The Vaughns are credited in the article as “Gold Star parents of Special Operations Chief (SEAL) Aaron Vaughn, KIA 6 Aug 2011. Billy is the author of Betrayed: The Shocking True Story of Extortion 17. Read more at http://www.forourson.us.”

http://static.ijreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/450x318_q75.jpg?2e4bfb
The last known photograph of Aaron Carson Vaughn, taken with his wife Kimberly and his two children.
Image via DVIDShub.net.

Aaron Carson Vaughn left behind his wife Kimberly and two young children.

http://www.ijreview.com/2014/09/173422-sir-jv-team-open-letter-parents-slain-navy-seal-rebukes-president-obama/

[Jolie Rouge]

Washington Post Gives Four Pinocchios to White House’s “Spin” on Obama’s “JV” Comment
September 3, 2014 By Greg Campbell

President Obama is an absolute mess when it comes to foreign policy. His administration appears in shambles as criticism comes from the right and, at times, the left over his too-casual response to ISIS and other foreign policy threats that are undoing decades of progress made by the U.S.

As the president golfs and leisurely enjoys the luxuries of the lifestyle of the 1% he so loathes, the country is noticing that less and less is getting done in the Oval Office.

The president excused his uninterested response to the threat posed by ISIS by explaining that they were the “JV” team of terrorists.

That “JV” team is rapidly dominating the Middle East and beheading Americans.

In light of the obviously gross underestimation by Obama, the White House is now trying to spin Obama’s comments and revise history by explaining that Obama didn’t actually say what we think he did- a Quixotic quest by the Obama propagandists that even the liberals of the Washington Post aren’t buying.

The Washington Post Fact-Checker reports:
Question: “Did the president underestimate ISIS [the terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria] when he referred to them in an interview only a couple months ago as a JV squad and making a reference to National Basketball Association basketball teams like the Lakers?”

White House spokesman Josh Earnest: “I thought somebody might ask this question today so I wanted to pull the transcript of the interview because it’s important to understand the context in which this was delivered. So let me just read the full quote and then we can talk about it:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/wp/2014/09/03/spinning-obamas-reference-to-isis-as-a-jv-team/


“‘I think there is a distinction between the capacity and reach of a bin Laden and a network that is actively planning major terrorist plots against the homeland versus jihadists who are engaged in various local power struggles and disputes, often sectarian.’

“So the president was not singling out ISIL [Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, another name for the group], he was talking about the very different threat that is posed by a range of extremists around the globe. Many of them do not have designs on attacking the West or attacking the United States, and that is what puts them in stark contrast to the goals and capability of the previously existing al-Qaeda core network that was led by Osama bin Laden.”

– exchange at White House news briefing, Aug. 25, 2014
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2014/08/25/earnest_obama_was_not_singling_out_isis_when_he_ma de_jv_reference.html

Several readers asked us to examine this claim from White House spokesman Josh Earnest that President Obama was not singling out the group that now calls itself as Islamic State when, during in an interview with the New Yorker that appeared last January, he appeared to dismiss it as a “JV squad.” Since then, the group has taken over vast segments of Iraqi territory, declared itself a state and has posted videos that appear to show the beheadings of two American journalists. [/QUOTE]

The article then explains the context in which the interviewer asked about ISIS.


Q: You know where this is going, though. Even in the period that you’ve been on vacation in the last couple of weeks, in Iraq, in Syria, of course, in Africa, al-Qaeda is resurgent.

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, but, David, I think the analogy we use around here sometimes, and I think is accurate, is if a JV team puts on Lakers uniforms, that doesn’t make them Kobe Bryant. I think there is a distinction between the capacity and reach of a bin Laden and a network that is actively planning major terrorist plots against the homeland versus jihadists who are engaged in various local power struggles and disputes, often sectarian.

While the President did not say the words, “ISIS is the ‘JV’ team,” he answered the question about ISIS with an analogy about a “JV” team. To try and spin it any other way is insulting and the Washington Post agrees, awarding the rating of the dreaded Four Pinocchios:
With the passage of eight months, the president’s “JV” comment looks increasingly untenable, so we can understand why the White House spokesman would try to suggest that what is now known as the Islamic State was not the subject of the conversation.


But in quoting from the transcript, Earnest provided a selective reading of the discussion. In particular, he failed to provide the context in which Obama made his remarks — the takeover of Fallujah by ISIS. That’s fairly misleading. The interviewer was certainly asking about ISIS when Obama answered with his “JV” remarks.

http://www.tpnn.com/2014/09/03/washington-post-gives-four-pinocchios-to-white-houses-spin-on-obamas-jv-comment/

[Jolie Rouge]

https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/s480x480/1525466_819669854733738_1471117297184350582_n.jpg? oh=990acf3465cf5d2484bcd8d148d63d21&oe=548BBF02&__gda__=1418062960_1d08a92ec5332a1666eeaba0bf14916 5


It is with heavy hearts that we remember those lost 3 years ago.

On 6 August 2011, a CH-47 Chinook military helicopter, call sign Extortion 17, was shot down while transporting a quick reaction force attempting to reinforce an engaged unit of Army Rangers in Wardak province, west of Kabul, Afghanistan. The resulting crash killed all 38 people on board. 25 American special operations personnel, five United States Army National Guard and Army Reserve crewmen, seven Afghan commandos, and one Afghan interpreter—as well as a U.S. military working dog.

It is considered the worst loss of U.S. Military life in a single incident in the war in Afghanistan, surpassing Operation Red Wings in 2005.

Take a moment today and say a prayer for those lost and their family and friends who are carrying on without their loved ones. ‪#‎Extortion17‬ ‪#‎NeverQuit‬ ‪#‎NeverForget