Baghdad Security Crackdown Begins
Meanwhile, 7 Killed After U.S. Military Helicopter Shot Down Near Capital
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Another Chopper Down; 7 Dead
Seven U.S. servicemen were killed when their helicopter was shot down northwest of Baghdad. It's the fifth time this year a U.S. helicopter has gone down. Lara Logan has exclusive details.
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7 Dead In Iraq Chopper Crash
All 7 people aboard a U.S. military helicopter that crashed in Iraq have died. Also, Defense Secretary Robert Gates told Congress again that he is still optimistic about Iraq. Aleen Sirgany reports.
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Bremer Quizzed On Iraqi Money
Democrats say Paul Bremer, once head of the Iraq occupation, must answer as to where nearly $12 billion of Iraqi reconstruction money went. David Martin reports.
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An Iraqi Army soldier looks away as his colleague searches a motorist at a vehicle checkpoint in central Baghdad, Feb. 7, 2007. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)
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An Iraqi Army soldier searches a driver at a vehicle checkpoint in central Baghdad on Feb. 7, 2007. (AP)
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In this image made from video broadcast by AP Television News, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2007, smoke and flame rise from the crash site of a U.S. military CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter which went down about 30 kilometers (20 miles) northwest of Baghdad, Iraq. (AP /APTN)
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This file photo shows a U.S. Marine Corps CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter in flight. (AP)
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New coils of barbed-wire and blast barriers marked checkpoints that caused traffic bottlenecks. U.S. Apache helicopters were in the air over parts of the city where they hadn't been seen before. Gunfire still rang out across the city and some residents said they doubted life would get better.
"Nothing will work. It's too late," said Hashem al-Moussawi, a resident of the Sadr City Shiite enclave who was badly wounded in a bombing in December.
Underlining the dangers ahead, a Sea Knight helicopter was shot down Wednesday northwest of Baghdad, killing all seven people on board, the U.S. military said. It's the fifth helicopter to go down in Iraq in just over two weeks.
CBS News has learned that the transport helicopter was shot down during what the military called "routine operations."
But before the U.S. could announce the cause of the crash, a jihadi Web site linked to al Qaeda was already declaring victory, reports chief foreign correspondent Lara Logan.
The Web site said, "The Air Defense Division of the Islamic State of Iraq has succeeded in shooting down and completely burning a Chinook helicopter."
"The helicopter was flying and passed over us, then we heard the firing of a missile," said Mohammad al-Janabi, a farmer who was speaking less than half a mile from the wreckage. "The helicopter then turned into a ball of fire. It flew in a circle twice, then it went down."
In other developments:
At checkpoints that seemed to have been thrown up overnight, some of them blocking half the lanes of traffic on wide streets, Iraqi police and army soldiers searched cars at random. Drivers and passengers had to get out and show identity papers.
Adding to the tension, Iraqi Army and police convoys fired rounds into the air above motorists, warning them to make way for the passing forces. The security troops drove over traffic medians and into incoming traffic.
In a sign of just how dangerous the security mission will be, a three-vehicle western security company convoy came under fire near Haifa Street, a Sunni insurgent stronghold just north of the Green Zone.
The security men in the armored cars returned fire and quickly exploded green and white smoke bombs for concealment. Minutes later, they sped away, with the bodyguards in the convoy pelting surrounding autos with water bottles to make them clear the way.
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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See all 126 CommentsThe enemy seems to have the leg up on us with these chopper attacks, but casualties are part of war. It just sucks were losing.
operations are on going
were losing the war of pubblic opinion !! and that is BS
BUSH: STEP DOWN!
IMPEECH BUSH/CHENEY for war crimes
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS--BRING THEM HOME ALIVE AND NOW!
I am scratching my head and other body parts wondering how long this insanity can go on.
Bomb them into submission!
think of what this money could have done for New Orleans?
Posted by lpcgraham06
No, what do you mean?
mabey bush dont care???
mabey the war on terorism is a scam???
mabey its time to pull out???
mabey all them people didnt have to die???
mabey is not good enough!!!
nice and warm in a nice safe House on this very ccold day--I am not suffering any war related problems. Well why the hell aren't we all sharing the burden of this war? I suspect the powers that be want to keep the war hidden and as much as possible from the public so they can continue to make billions of dollars.
This is not about terrorism any more, it's a civil war between islamic factions that is the result of hatered between the two that goes back centries. If there is no leader in Iraq that can bring the sides together, no amount of American troops is going to make much differnece.
Congress has a responsibilty too, they should not just 'stay out of the way'! The Preisdent is not a dictator, go back to school and learn something about the seperation of powers!
Posted by fonso_2006 at 10:34 AM : Feb 07, 2007
Let me see if I understand you here... exactly WHAT in the past 4 years has the "Dem's" denied Sir Lies-A-Lot? You fascist have ODED on your hate so much that you can't see anything. LOL Sparky there have been so many operations and the like in the last 4 years and all that time we, THE PEOPLE, were being told by Sir Lies-A-Lot that we were winning and all was well and NOW you want to blame the "Dem's", who had NO control over nothing? If that wasn't so sad it would be downright funny!
Posted by lpcgraham06
AMAZING! You fascist are truly AMAZING! As bad as Sir Lies-A-Lot has failed, as bad as this nation is you fools continue with your hatred of Clinton. That's truly AMAZING... Stupid, but Amazing!! LOL
well said fonso_2006
If you would actually read you would have seen that I did not say the Dems have stopped from doing something in the last 4 years. I'm talking about right now. The man failed on Iraq, but he's only human. He had the right stragety just didn't have the strength he thought he would have from the Iraqis. He won't do that again. I'm not saying that he's a dictator, I'm just saying that we need to give him a chance to win this war. All anyone thinks about are the casualties, well HELLO this is war, there's gonna be casualties. I hate that there are but that's reality.
Read the history. Remember Vietnam.
You occupy a country.
rape them , kill them.
then you want it to be peaceful!!
come on!
its just the begining.
No doubt, many of the comments here would have you believe that the issue here is American resolve. There is no military solution, blunderbush has pursued this path for almost 4 years. Truth is, if Iraqi's were willing to fight and die for democracy as much as they are willing to fight and die killing Americans and each other
we wouldn't need 130,000 troops over there.
The only thing this administration is staying in Iraq for is the Oil. If you leave now, the Iraqis may just be friendly enough to cooperate with our oil companies. The only thing you accomplish by staying and killing more Iraqis is creating more enemies and increasing the possibility that they will be unfriendly. It's a simple FACT, each time an Occupying force kills an Iraqi, that Occupying force creates more enemies among the local populace. Kill someone's brother, and you just made enemies out of his brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, mother, and father. Think about it.
It's a civil war, get out, stop killing Iraqis and making more Iraqi enemies. The longer you stay and kill, the more enemies you make.
By the way I do despise G.W. Bush, but not just him.
I despise ALL in our government who in 2001 planned and executed THE WAR IN IRAQ.
I also despise all who "support" our president's decision to go to Iraq.
Americans were not told the truth about how little a threat Iraq posed.
Better and peaceful ways of ending what threat Iraq did pose were ignored and never given the chance.
3000+ Americans are dead in a war we didn't NEED to fight.
50,000 Americans are injured in a war we didn't NEED to fight.
100,000 Iraq civilians are dead in war that Americans caused.
2 evils caused this war; G.W. Bush and GOP/Republicans.
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See all 126 Comments