WASHINGTON, Aug. 30, 2007
Senators' Plane Evades Ground Fire In Iraq
C-130 Carrying 4 Members Of U.S. Congress Was Under Fire From Rocket-Propelled Grenades
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(CBS/AP)
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The lawmakers said their plane, a C-130, was under fire from three rocket-propelled grenades over the course of several minutes as they left for Amman, Jordan.
“It was a scary moment,” said Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., who said he had just taken off his body armor when he saw a bright flash outside the window. “Our pilots were terrific. ... They banked in one direction and then banked the other direction, and they set off the flares.”
Sens. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and James Inhofe, R-Okla., as well as Rep. Bud Cramer, D-Ala., were also on the plane.
Cramer and Martinez said they had just begun to relax about five or 10 minutes after the plane took off under darkness.
Crew members apparently communicated to the pilots as they saw the initial RPG fired from the ground, Cramer said. After the first burst, the pilots maneuvered aggressively and set off flares used for drawing incoming fire away from aircraft.
Once the flares lit up the sky, lawmakers said, two more RPGs were fired as the pilots continued maneuvering.
Martinez said he quickly put back on his body armor.
“We were jostled around pretty good,” said Cramer, who estimated the plane had ascended to about 6,000 feet. “There were a few minutes there where I wondered: 'Have we been hit? Are we OK?'”
Capt. Angel Wallace, a spokeswoman for U.S. Central Command, said she was not aware of the incident, and military public affairs officials in Baghdad could not be reached immediately.
Lawmakers travel to Iraq regularly to get a closer look at military and political progress there, usually staying inside Baghdad's secured Green Zone and traveling under heavy security.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and other lawmakers who walked around a Baghdad market this spring were criticized for offering a rosy assessment of security there.
Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., for example, later said he chose his words poorly when he compared the market to a “normal outdoor market in Indiana in the summertime.”
Despite the scare, Shelby, Martinez and Cramer said they believed the recent increase in troop levels has helped stabilize parts of the country.
“It was kind of dicey,” Shelby said. “But it just shows you what our troops go through every day.”
© MMVII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The secrets of tennis legend 
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See all 94 CommentsToo bad they missed, that would be the true testament to what our troops go through everyday.
Posted by pakaal at 06:40 PM : Aug 31, 2007
Classic "Ministry of Truth" right out of 1984. He who controls the present, controls the past. He who controls the past, controls the future.
http://www.freedomswatch.org/
LOL! These are the guys who had the ad saying "call Congress to tell them how you feel about the war in Iraq" but it connects you to some Republican shill who won''t actually connect you to the Congressional switchboard unless you say you support the surge. Yeah, the Neocon definition of "Freedom" is "Think what we tell you to think."
An influential group of conservatives convinced President George W. Bush that it was in America''s best interests to conquer Iraq as a first step toward dominating the oil-producing nations in the Middle East. There was no "exit plan" because we never intended to exit. The plan was, and is, to build military bases in Iraq and stay there forever. Our leaders also see Iraq as a place to make money. So Bush & Co. have set up their friends to cash in on the rebuilding of Iraq.
http://www.freedomswatch.org/
The Real Stars: In Today''s America, Who Are the True Heroes?
http://www.amazon.com/Real-Stars-Todays-America-Heroes/dp/1401911447/ref=pd_bbs_sr_7/104-3631381-4433551?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1188576368&sr=8-7
Bush''s war support rising?
The latest poll by United Press International/Zogby Interactive showed that 54 percent think the war is not lost, with respondents splitting sharply along party lines on that question.
http://www.zogby.com/Soundbites/ReadClips.dbm?ID=15553
Majority in poll say U.S. can win war in Iraq
The poll shows 54 percent of Americans said the war is not lost.
http://www.zogby.com/Soundbites/ReadClips.dbm?ID=15533
Porter ties U.S. withdrawal from Iraq to $9 gasoline
http://www.lvrj.com/news/9466252.html
Why are all these politicians going over there? Do they think it is a free trip to do some sightseeing. There is a war going on over there. Who is paying for their little jaunts?? The taxpayers no doubt!!! Stay Home!!!
non muslims of the world unite... fight against the tyranny of the fascist nazi terrorslam imperialist empire of the darkside...
I was a fanatic...I know their thinking, says former radical Islamist
By blaming the Government for our actions, those who pushed this "Blair''s bombs" line did our propaganda work for us.
More important, they also helped to draw away any critical examination from the real engine of our violence: Islamic theology.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=465570&in_page_id=1770
Bless the Beasts and Children
Fascist nazi terrorslam kills every man woman and child in the village again%u2026 typical mo for terrorslam%u2026
http://www.michaelyon-online.com/wp/bless-the-beasts-and-children.htm
Our Prophet commanded us to fight the kaafirs when we are able and to attack them in their homelands and to give them three choices before we enter their lands: either they become Muslim and be like us, sharing our rights and duties; or they pay the jizyah (poll tax) and feel themselves subdued; or they fight, in which case their wealth, women, children and homes become permissible as booty for the Muslims.
http://islamqa.com/index.php?ref=13759&ln=eng&txt=before%20islam%20arabia%20pagan
the truth about fascist nazi terrorislam...
http://www.terrorismawareness.org/what-really-happened/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/30/AR2007083001848_pf.html
Alawi is gettiing face time on the War Pig Propaganda Circus-Circus Network...criticizing the al-Maliki who recently received the kiss of death from the Decider--who called him a "good man". It will be good to have an outright terrorist back in charge of the Iraqi Quisling regime, one who can be despised without any reservations.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18277.htm
The Petraeus-Betrayus report is on the way...one needn''t even put on the rose-coloured glasses for this one...this piece of fiction will shout optimism and progress--they''ll even use happy faces to dot the ''i''s'' and will rank up there with "Strawberry Shortcake" pop-up books and ''My Pet Goat'' as a report on the true state of affairs in Iraq...
The bush family has spent so much time with the Saudi''s and seen their power, again, it''s easy to see...
They probably all think they served active duty now and will use it in their next campaign. I can hear them now - "...when I was underfire in Iraq...".
Gypt and Jewed. Egyptiain and Saxxon loones! The empire and corporate dreams people!
Food is in the supermarket and wood is in the lumber store. Ignor that forest and nature stuff. Happieness is bought at the mall. Hard work and self esteme is serving your ashkenazi elite or pharroh...lol. "He''s a good worker" ... ha ha ha
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