Stinger missile in Afghanistan

U.S. helos in Iraq possibly downed by U.S. Stinger missiles

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Sunni insurgents may have used U.S. Stinger missiles to shoot down four helicopters over Iraq, the most recent being an Apache helicopter near Taji on February 2nd, 2007. Taliban fighters, suspected of having Stinger missiles left over from Afghanistan's conflict with Russia, are reportedly cooperating with the Sunni insurgency in Iraq.

According to Newsweek, the Taliban have been sharing tactics with Iraqi insurgents since 2005. The Taliban have previously claimed responsibility for downing U.S. helicopters in Afghanistan, and Taliban commander Mohammed Daud spent a few months in Iraq in 2005. He returned to Afghanistan saying he wanted "to copy in Afghanistan the tactics and spirit of the glorious Iraqi resistance," according to Newsweek. Could the reverse be happening now?

According to the Associated Press, the crashes began on January 20, 2007 after insurgents claimed to have received new stocks of anti-aircraft weapons. U.S. news outlets have suggested that Iran may have provided the new weaponry. But Iran is run by a large Shia majority and the latest shoot-down in Taji was by Sunni insurgents.

Nonetheless, Washington Post writer Ernesto Londono wrote "US officials believe Iran is supplying Shi'ite militias with new weapons...[and that some] of those weapons could have found their way into the hands of Sunni insurgents, who operate around Taji."

While this could be true, it is highly doubtful that Iran is providing--either directly or indirectly--advanced weaponry to their Sunni rivals. This is perhaps as improbable as England arming the IRA during the bloodiest period of their conflict in Northern Ireland.

But the US Administration has repeatedly accused Iran of arming Shiite factions in Iraq, while providing little, if any, supporting evidence. And eerily similar to U.S. pre-Iraq war reporting, the U.S. media is repeating unsubstantiated Administration claims.

A far more likely scenario is that the Sunni Taliban are supporting and perhaps arming Sunni militias in Iraq. Both groups are known to be cooperating and allied against the U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Taliban have already claimed responsibility for downing U.S. helicopters in Afganistan with, quite likely, the same Stinger missiles that the Pentagon predicted may emerge during that conflict.

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