Sortie and Tonnage Comparisons

[aldopacific at gn.apc.org]

--HDR1.0-- 37 TX;

BBC 1 TV News at 1700 GMT today, 10th April, reported that the
weather over Northern Iraq etc. had sufficiently improved for the
RAF to be able to carry out its air drops of relief supplies.

These comprised 40 tons of food and blankets - enough food in the
form of army rations to feed 2,500 people for one day. Apparently
the Americans also dropped 4 Hercules loads of supplies.

Very nice.

Compare this number of sorties, countable on the fingers of one's
hands, with the following GreenPeace Situation Report of 31st
January, which I have here because we used in in issue 15 of
GulfWatch:

        "Over 10,000 sorties of all sorts had been flown during
the first week of the war. The number of sorties flown to date is
now over 32,000, with 2,600 flown on 31st January..... This
includes 300 sorties per day flown against Republican Guard
ground units.... 27 B-52s dropped 455 tons of explosives.... etc
etc etc."

If we can land thousands of tons of bombs a day, why can we
manage only 40 tons of relief supplies?

If we can parachute SAS intelligence experts behind lines to help
locate SCUD launching sites, why in poor weather cannot we find
thousands of refugees using known routes?

If we can lazer direct or cruise missile target high explosives
with supreme precision...... does one need to say any more?


Alastair McIntosh.

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