Australian pilots refused to bomb 40 times during the Iraq war.
Serious DiscussionDiscuss Australian pilots refused to bomb 40 times during the Iraq war. in the Discussions forums; Originally Posted by Article
Our pilots refused to bomb 40 times
By Frank Walker
March 14, 2004
Australia's F/A-18 pilots defied the orders of American commanders and ...
Our pilots refused to bomb 40 times
By Frank Walker
March 14, 2004
Australia's F/A-18 pilots defied the orders of American commanders and refused to drop their bombs on up to 40 missions during the invasion of Iraq, it can now be revealed.
In a remarkable account of how our airmen applied Australian rules of engagement, an RAAF pilot has told The Sun-Herald each of the 14 RAAF Hornet pilots aborted three to four bombing runs because intelligence given at pre-flight briefings did not concur with what they found at the target.
Last night, The Sun-Herald could not confirm whether or not American field commanders raised objections about the Australian pilots' actions, nor if US pilots later carried out the bombing runs themselves.
But Australia's Defence Force chief, General Peter Cosgrove backed the pilots' action, and said there were no recriminations.
Squadron Leader Daryl Pudney last week described how he and other Australian F/A-18 pilots were forced to weigh up the risk of civilian casualties in a split second before dropping their bombs.
He said pilots broke off many missions after they saw the target and decided there was not a valid military reason to drop their bombs.
The Australian airforce expects it's pilots to deploy their ordinance at their own discretion. Interesting idea and it also makes me wonder why instalations that were probably civilian were targeted.
de vagorum ordine dico vobis iura
fatue fatue
quid prodest tibi laborare
[hildegard von bingen - ordo virtutum]
If it's to do with the intelligence being different to what they found then I would guess that they either didn't see the target there or they found civilian areas too close. I doubt whether you can tell from the air what an installation is actually being used for. I agree, I would be very interested to found out.
'If we take in our hand any volume; of divinity or school metaphysics, for instance; let us ask, Does it contain any abstract reasoning concerning quantity or number? No. Does it contain any experimental reasoning, concerning matterof fact and existence? No. Commit it then to the flames: for it contains nothing but sophistry and illusion.'
'The heart of man is made to reconcile the most glaring contradictions.'
I would think that unless large weapons such as missiles and planes are stored outside of a facility in the open it would be impossible to tell if a facility is used by the military or not.
de vagorum ordine dico vobis iura
fatue fatue
quid prodest tibi laborare
[hildegard von bingen - ordo virtutum]
I'm not sure if it should be just left at that though. I would like to know why 40 pilots decided not to bomb their assigned targets as this would seem to indicate that areas that were civilian in nature were targeted.
de vagorum ordine dico vobis iura
fatue fatue
quid prodest tibi laborare
[hildegard von bingen - ordo virtutum]
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