The Tape And Transcript That The US Refused To Release
The tape they wanted to hide
By TOM NEWTON DUNN
Defence Editor
February 06, 2007THIS is the full transcript of the cockpit video from call sign POPOV36 during the disastrous friendly fire attack on the Household Cavalry patrol.
Lasting just over 15 minutes, it begins just before the A-10 Thunderbolt pilot spots the four British vehicles.
The local time is 4.36pm, or 1.36pm Greenwich Mean Time which is what the military use.
The killer pilot’s wingman, hunting targets with him in a second A-10, had the call sign POPOV35 …..
” Transcript starts:
1336.30 MANILA HOTEL:
POPOV from MANILA HOTEL. Can you confirm you engaged that tube and those vehicles?
1336.36 POPOV35:
Affirm Sir. Looks like I’ve got multiple vehicles in reverts at about 800 metres to the north of your arty rounds. Can you switch fire, and shift fire, and get some arty rounds on those?
1336.47 MANILA HOTEL:
Roger, I understand that those are the impacts you observed earlier on my timing?
1336.51 POPOV35:
Affirmative.
Read in full: The Sun Online - News: The tape they wanted to hide
The video link is here:
Link to The Sun Online - Video: Exclusives, interviews and shoots from The Sun online
Commentary:
Forget the excuses about how the panels looked like rockets. Those pilots didn’t bother to check the IFF (identification of friend foe) the excuse that you read in the transcript or heard on the sound track to the video that they looked like hostiles won’t wash. It’s a lie.
As the Sun’s defense editor puts it:
THE Sun today publishes the full, disturbing truth about how the US pilot of an A-10 tankbuster jet broke all the rules to shoot up a British convoy in the Iraq war.
We obtained the cockpit videotape at the centre of a diplomatic row between the two Allies.
It shows how the pilots — reservists who had never been in action before — made SIX crucial errors.
They left 25-year-old Lance Corporal of Horse Matty Hull dead and four comrades from the Household Cavalry Regiment seriously injured.
Source: The Sun Online - News: Joy at direct hit turns to horror
The tape and transcript make it very clear that they didn’t bother to follow their orders and check the IFF signals being broadcast by the UK vehicles that they attacked. That goes beyond incompetence. No wonder the US isn’t cooperating with the inquest. No wonder the UK MOD isn’t cooperating with the coroner. A very large proportion UK casualties at the start of operation Telic (which is what the UK call the invasion of Iraq and its subsequent occupation) were caused by trigger happy US personnel. I’ve already done two postings on Telic fatalaties The page referred to in the PQ has been moved by the British MOD to here.
There have been similar incidents in Afghanistan. To understand the seriousness of the failure to you need to know a bit about IFF systems. It is worth repeating. Forget the “orange panels excuse” it’s a lie.
What is IFF?
IFF is used to prevent blue on blue incidents. Dean-boys.com a site run by a well respected retired USAF veteran Msgt Dean W Boys, has a very clearly written set of FAQs on what it is and how it works:
Some Frequently asked Questions about the History and Development of IFF Systems
Q. What is IFF and how does it work?
A. With supersonic aircraft and swift antiaircraft missiles, there is no time to identify friendly forces by visual means. IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) is an electronic system which can determine the intent of an aircraft with the speed of the fastest computer. A related system is used for air traffic control at civilian airports. Litton is a world leader in the development and manufacture of military IFF systems.
………..
Q. What are the secured or cryptographic modes of operation for IFF?
A. The original reason for IFF systems came about was to identify friendly forces in a battlefield environment. For that reason, it is essential that hostile forces not be able to use the system to identify themselves as friendly even if the physical IFF equipment should fall into their hands. Litton supplies military IFF equipment, including the most advanced encryption systems, that prevent unauthorized use.
The secure mode is used exclusively for military purposes. This mode uses a very long challenge word which contains a preamble that tells the transponder it is about to receive a secure message. The challenge itself is encrypted at the interrogator by a separate device that uses various mathematical algorithms to put it in a secure form. The transponder routes the ensuing challenge to a separate device that uses the inverse algorithms to decode the challenge. In effect, each challenge is telling the transponder to respond in a certain way. If the transponder cannot decipher the challenge, it will not be able to respond in the proper way and thus will not be identified as a friend.
To prevent unauthorized use of either the interrogation equipment or the transponders if they should fall into hostile hands, a key code must be periodically entered into each device. To eliminate the chance of a random guess by a hostile target corresponding with the proper response, each identification consists of a rapid series of challenges each requiring a different response that must be correct before the target is confirmed as a friend. A very high degree of security to the identification system is ensured through the use of key codes and powerful cryptographic techniques.
Read IFF Questions & Answers in full
Readers should also note that the coroner investigating how those British troops were killed by their American comrades is about to lose his job.
A coroner who demanded the release of a cockpit video showing a US plane attacking a British convoy in Iraq will not have his contract renewed.
Andrew Walker criticised the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for failing to clear the video to be shown at an inquest.
Source: BBC NEWS | England | Oxfordshire | Iraq inquest coroner loses job
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