George Galloway
Guardian
Tuesday November 20, 2001
Last Wednesday, an Iraqi Airways Boeing 727 civilian airliner was climbing out from Basra, Iraq's southern port, when the ether crackled at 121.5 megahertz with an unmistakable American voice: "This is the United Nations [sic] no-fly zone enforcement patrol calling Iraqi airliner travelling at 21,000 feet proceeding at 400mph north-west from Basra. I warn you that you are subject to being fired upon - you continue to fly at your own risk."
Thus in the middle of a war against terrorism, falsely claiming a UN mandate - the "no-fly zones" are in fact imposed unilaterally by Britain and the US - an allied pilot was threatening 180 civilian passengers with airborne death. That would have created quite a desert storm.
I might not have believed this story if an Iraqi official had told me. But as chance would have it for the US pilot, I was on that flight, sitting in the cockpit with Captain Akram, who disdainfully ignored the warning. Also on the aircraft were Lord Naseer Ahmed, Britain's first Muslim peer, and the solidly Blairite MP Kerry Pollard......
The rest of the report can be found here
Guardian News Story
OK, lets just for one minute take this report as being accurate, can anyone defend this?
Yes, sorry personally i DO believe that anyone who threatens to shoot down an airliner that is simply going about its normal business is making a terrorist threat.
If you were intercepted off the coast of wherever you may think the same, but from the comfort of your own home....... asbestos underwear is donned so flame away.
The point I’m trying to make here is that i thought we were supposed to be the good guys & i didn’t think the white hats were supposed to do (even threaten to do) this kid of thing.