Wed, Jan 22, 2003
Since When Did We Request Permission to Fly U-2
Missions?
In an
interesting turn of events, UN weapons inspector Hans Blix has
relayed the Iraqi message that American U-2s are not welcome over
Iraq, whether to help the UN mission, or just to spy, in
general.
Iraq was asked to allow the U-2 flights, as part of that
country's acquiescence in Blix's hunt for weapons of mass
destruction, which Iraq denies it has (and which the rest of the
world is trying to find).
Iraq didn't give a blanket thumbs-down to the proposal for the
'long-wing F-104s' to do surveillance work; it reportedly said it
would be OK for the high-fliers to pass, if the US and Britain
would just stop patrolling the no-fly zones.
Iraq
'graciously' offered to accompany the U-2s, with her own military
aircraft -- that would allow the Iraqi Air Force access to the
no-fly zones, of course. The US and Britain are not about to turn
over that airspace any time soon, so the U-2s aren't welcome. "It's
still a spy plane," Iraq noted.
The question is, 'do we need Iraqi permission to fly
the Dragon Lady?' Did we ask permission of the Soviet Union? Do we
ask permission of North Korea? Pakistan? India? Libya? Uruguay?
"We cannot be responsible for the safety of the U.N. plane and
the crew," the Iraqi spokesman said. The UN doesn't have any U-2s,
for one thing (although the proposed flights would bear UN
markings); and, who said anyone wanted Iraq to "be responsible for
the safety" of the plane and crew?
It is also unclear, whether Iraq has any credible military means
to deny such flights.
More News
An Amazing Experience Awaits The Chosen Few... Oshkosh, to us, seems the perfect place to get started on watching aviation recover the past couple of years... and so ANN is putting>[...]
“NBAA has a tremendous responsibility to the business aviation industry, and we are constantly collaborating with them. Our flight departments, professionals and aircraft own>[...]
Dead Reckoning Dead reckoning, as applied to flying, is the navigation of an airplane solely by means of computations based on airspeed, course, heading, wind direction, and speed,>[...]
Aero Linx: Vertical Aviation Safety Team (VAST) We are a public–private initiative to enhance worldwide flight operations safety in all segments of the vertical flight indust>[...]
We're Everywhere... Thanks To You! Even with the vast resources and incredibly far-reaching scope of the Aero-News Network, every now and then a story that should be reported on sl>[...]