Los Angeles Times: Equipment Faulted in 'Anaconda' Losses
[url]http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-052402anaconda_wr.story[/url]
Equipment Faulted in 'Anaconda' Losses
Military: Gen. Tommy Franks rules out human error in an ecounter with Al Qaeda
that resulted in deaths of seven Americans.
From Associated Press
May 24 2002, 1:18 PM PDT
WASHINGTON -- The deadliest firefight for the United States in the Afghan war--
a mountain battle that killed seven Americans-- was beset by communications
problems, the Pentagon said today.
The war commander, Army Gen. Tommy Franks, attributed the problems to the harsh
weather and equipment failures, such as broken radios and shot-up helicopters,
rather than to human error.
In a leadup to Memorial Day, he praised the bravery of the troops and the
success, though costly, of the operation in recounting the battle on the frigid
mountaintop against dug-in Al Qaeda fighters. A commando who fell out of a
helicopter and six soldiers who tried to rescue him were killed.
"That battle showed heroism," Franks said. "It showed fog, uncertainty, it
showed friction, elements common to every war I think we've fought."
"In the end the bravery and the audacity and certainly the tenacity of the
people involved in that operation carried the day."
During the battle, in March in an area of eastern Afghanistan the locals call
Takur Ghar, U.S. commanders watched helplessly as a Predator drone relayed live
video of some of the fighting.
The operation was hurt by communications problems, from a reconnaissance flight
that failed to detect Al Qaeda forces lying in wait to the difficulties that
troops on the ground and in helicopters had in raising their commanders and
nearby warplane pilots.
Franks indicated troops in the heat of the fight might have used a wrong radio
frequency.
But he said no changes in command arrangements between regular and special
forces were made as a result of a Pentagon review. He said of the people on the
scene that day: "I think their judgments were good."
Nor did he think it was extraordinary that equipment would malfunction given the
circumstances. "In the middle of a firefight, things will get shot up," he said.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld was briefed on the review's findings on
Thursday.
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