MIG jet found in Iraq in 2003

[TEXASYANKEE]

A Freeper just sent me an email with pictures of a Russian MIG being uncovered in Iraq. He didn't source the article, but after a quick Google search, I see it came from NewsMax in August of 2003. I know that NewsMax is not a realiable source, so does anyone have any additional information they can share with me? Was it only that one jet? What conclusions were eventually drawn -- did Iraq bury the jet to keep it hidden or bury it because it couldn't be salvaged?

[radwriter0555]

1. It was probably forgotten and ravaged by the sand. Sand isn't kind to

airplanes and quickly renders them useless.

[RobertSeattle]

2. So what?

A MIG isn't a WMD.

I vaguely recall something about the Iraqi's burying jets or putting them in graveyards to avoid destruction back during the hot war period.

[Ilsa]

3. I guess we are to believe that

all they had to do was dust it off, gas it up, "get the keys from Saddam" and go spray the world with sarin or ricin or anthrax? I'remember something about this, but don't remember it being any smoking gun, or we never would have heard the end of it.

[bowens43]

4. Even if it hadn't been buried,

even if it was in perfect condition, so what? Iraq wasn't prohibited from maintaining an air force.

[denverbill]

5. It was buried during Gulf War I.

We had blown every plane of theirs that managed to take off out of the sky, and the rest on the runways. A few managed to flee to Iran. A few, apparently, they just haphazardly buried. Being buried isn't good for an airplane, btw.

[Screaming Lord Byron]

6. Last time I checked, states were still allowed to have warplanes, y'know.

[EV1Ltimm]

7. they found dozens of them early on in the war.

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/08/01/1059480557364.html

[GreyV]

8. MiG?

Which MiG? What type of MiG? The word MiG is mighty big when it comes to aviation.

Was it an ancient MiG 21 ...




or... MiG 29 perhaps?

[jpak]

9. I saw those pictures right after the war

One showed the vertical stabilizers of a Mig-25 sticking out of the sand.

It was wind-blown - not dumped - material.

The planes were rendered useless and unsalvageable - and they were perfectly legal under UN sanctions and coalition surrender terms.

[DevilsAdvocate2]

10. The point the administration was making

If I remember correctly, the jets were found close to our troops after they had been there a while. The administration basically said that if jets can be barely under the sand right next to a bunch of our troops and we didn't see them, imagine how easy it would be to miss the WMD.

*edited for grammar*

[Screaming Lord Byron]

13. The other side of that argument is that the troops weren't looking

for planes. If they were, they'd have found that one. The administration's logic is hopeless.

[TEXASYANKEE]

14. Bingo.

According to further searches, this was when Rumsfield made the "absence of evidence is not evidence of absence" remark.

I really have to marvel at these Bush-loving Freeper-types. They take a non-situation that happened in July of 2003 and now try to spin it into "look what we just found!!" It's hard to keep up with them.

[JohnyCanuck]

11. Tell your freeper friend to go pull another excuse out of his ass.

The Chimp is still either a liar or a gullible fool. He can have his pick.

[Wickerman]

12. There you have it - justification for war

they found a jet buried in the sand, been there for years. Yep, that was worth 10's of thousands of lives. :eyes: