SEAL Team 6 families suspicions of govt grow
SEAL Team 6 families? suspicions of gov?t grow
Inside job?
When asked if they believed the attack possibly was an inside job, several family members responded in the affirmative.
Billy Vaughn, father of killed Navy SEAL Aaron Vaughn, told WND that yes, he believed it was an inside job.
Doug Hamburger, whose son Patrick was a flight engineer and gunner with the SEALs, said that at the very least, he believed Afghan president Hamid Karzai tipped off the Taliban.
Strange went even further, saying he believed there was collaboration between the U.S. and Afghan governments to shoot down the helicopter.
I believe the Afghan administration and someone on their side definitely made a deal with somebody on our side. It says in the investigation report that back in May the military knew the Taliban was in that location with the intent of shooting down an American helicopter. Knowing this why were they sent in without air cover?
The official explanation by the U.S. military is that the Chinook was struck by a shoulder-fired missile, which caused the helicopter to explode, burning everyone beyond recognition.
However, there are several things that have caused the family to doubt the official explanation that it was simply a lucky shot, as Army investigators declared.
I dont want to hear about it being a lucky shot, a lucky shot wouldve been a clean miss, Strange said.
Following the ambush, the Army ordered the remains of everyone on the helicopter cremated, they were simply unrecognizable.
However, Michael Stranges body apparently showed no sign of being burned by the explosion from the missile. His father obtained a copy of Michaels autopsy report and photographs of his body and said there was no sign of fire damage.
Theres nothing wrong with the body except for his ankle, but they claimed everybody was burned beyond recognition, yet there he was lying there whole and intact, Strange said. His hair and arms werent burned, and there was no sign of smoke in his lungs. When I called the command up and asked them about this they seem shocked that I had the photo. They told me well get back to you, but they never did.
Well get back to you
Why did they cremate my boy? We are Christians and do not believe in cremation; there was no reason for them to do that, Strange said.
Eyebrows also were raised when a Muslim imam was invited by the Obama administration to pray over the fallen soldiers. During the prayer, the imam reportedly recited a prayer from the Quran that damned the fallen warriors to hell for being infidels. The ceremony did not feature any similar prayer from a Christian chaplain.
Another strange occurrence about the ambush is that the evidence that would reveal how the helicopter was shot down has gone missing.
The Chinooks black box never was recovered. The military claims a rare flash flood came through the area and washed the box away. However, aircraft black boxes are designed to take that kind of punishment and have even been recovered from the ocean floor.
Another piece of evidence missing is any recording of the explosion by an aerial drone in the area. Hamburger said the military provided the men involved in missions of that kind with a variety of assets in the air.
When they go out on an operation like this, the military normally has a stack of protection above them that includes two Apache helicopters, a C-130 and a drone to help see what is going on. When the men of Extortion 17 flew into that valley, they did not have a stack over them.
We were told, and it is in the official report that the eye in the sky, meaning the camera on the drone, was inoperative during the time the Chinook was shot down, Hamburger said. Yet we have two soldiers, including one of my sons friends, who told us they saw Extortion 17 get shot down from the cameras on that drone at one of the other forward operating bases. We would really like to see that footage and have it handed over to an expert who could analyze it to see the sequence of how the helicopter was exploded and what happened.
Hamburger says even more amazingly, he was told the problem with the footage somehow resolved itself later during the ambush after the helicopter was shot down.
We asked if the camera was not working why was the drone still in the area rather than being sent back to base. They told us the problem with the camera was not an ongoing issue, but was simply a glitch that happened at the exact time Extortion 17 was shot down.
We dont know what happened
Klayman said while he understands tragic things happen in war, by refusing to answer legitimate questions by family members the government is acting like it has something to hide.
Over two years after Extortion 17 was shot down, the families still have these unanswered questions. All of this raises the distinct possibility of a cover-up as to what really happened. We dont know what happened and none of these answers are forthcoming.
Hamburger said while any individual could be dismissed if taken alone, but together they suggest a cover-up.
You sit there and add up the score and what you have is a case where the black box is missing, the eye in the sky is out, and there was no support aircraft in the area. Everything you typically do for safety and to help out the helicopter and crew is non-existent. Additionally, all of the things you would need to take a look at what happened has disappeared. All you have is a downed aircraft and a bunch of dead soldiers.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, is among elected officials who are demanding answers. He and his subcommittee on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee are investigating the crash.
SEAL Team 6 families? suspicions of gov?t grow
Inside job?
When asked if they believed the attack possibly was an inside job, several family members responded in the affirmative.
Billy Vaughn, father of killed Navy SEAL Aaron Vaughn, told WND that yes, he believed it was an inside job.
Doug Hamburger, whose son Patrick was a flight engineer and gunner with the SEALs, said that at the very least, he believed Afghan president Hamid Karzai tipped off the Taliban.
Strange went even further, saying he believed there was collaboration between the U.S. and Afghan governments to shoot down the helicopter.
I believe the Afghan administration and someone on their side definitely made a deal with somebody on our side. It says in the investigation report that back in May the military knew the Taliban was in that location with the intent of shooting down an American helicopter. Knowing this why were they sent in without air cover?
The official explanation by the U.S. military is that the Chinook was struck by a shoulder-fired missile, which caused the helicopter to explode, burning everyone beyond recognition.
However, there are several things that have caused the family to doubt the official explanation that it was simply a lucky shot, as Army investigators declared.
I dont want to hear about it being a lucky shot, a lucky shot wouldve been a clean miss, Strange said.
Following the ambush, the Army ordered the remains of everyone on the helicopter cremated, they were simply unrecognizable.
However, Michael Stranges body apparently showed no sign of being burned by the explosion from the missile. His father obtained a copy of Michaels autopsy report and photographs of his body and said there was no sign of fire damage.
Theres nothing wrong with the body except for his ankle, but they claimed everybody was burned beyond recognition, yet there he was lying there whole and intact, Strange said. His hair and arms werent burned, and there was no sign of smoke in his lungs. When I called the command up and asked them about this they seem shocked that I had the photo. They told me well get back to you, but they never did.
Well get back to you
Why did they cremate my boy? We are Christians and do not believe in cremation; there was no reason for them to do that, Strange said.
Eyebrows also were raised when a Muslim imam was invited by the Obama administration to pray over the fallen soldiers. During the prayer, the imam reportedly recited a prayer from the Quran that damned the fallen warriors to hell for being infidels. The ceremony did not feature any similar prayer from a Christian chaplain.
Another strange occurrence about the ambush is that the evidence that would reveal how the helicopter was shot down has gone missing.
The Chinooks black box never was recovered. The military claims a rare flash flood came through the area and washed the box away. However, aircraft black boxes are designed to take that kind of punishment and have even been recovered from the ocean floor.
Another piece of evidence missing is any recording of the explosion by an aerial drone in the area. Hamburger said the military provided the men involved in missions of that kind with a variety of assets in the air.
When they go out on an operation like this, the military normally has a stack of protection above them that includes two Apache helicopters, a C-130 and a drone to help see what is going on. When the men of Extortion 17 flew into that valley, they did not have a stack over them.
We were told, and it is in the official report that the eye in the sky, meaning the camera on the drone, was inoperative during the time the Chinook was shot down, Hamburger said. Yet we have two soldiers, including one of my sons friends, who told us they saw Extortion 17 get shot down from the cameras on that drone at one of the other forward operating bases. We would really like to see that footage and have it handed over to an expert who could analyze it to see the sequence of how the helicopter was exploded and what happened.
Hamburger says even more amazingly, he was told the problem with the footage somehow resolved itself later during the ambush after the helicopter was shot down.
We asked if the camera was not working why was the drone still in the area rather than being sent back to base. They told us the problem with the camera was not an ongoing issue, but was simply a glitch that happened at the exact time Extortion 17 was shot down.
We dont know what happened
Klayman said while he understands tragic things happen in war, by refusing to answer legitimate questions by family members the government is acting like it has something to hide.
Over two years after Extortion 17 was shot down, the families still have these unanswered questions. All of this raises the distinct possibility of a cover-up as to what really happened. We dont know what happened and none of these answers are forthcoming.
Hamburger said while any individual could be dismissed if taken alone, but together they suggest a cover-up.
You sit there and add up the score and what you have is a case where the black box is missing, the eye in the sky is out, and there was no support aircraft in the area. Everything you typically do for safety and to help out the helicopter and crew is non-existent. Additionally, all of the things you would need to take a look at what happened has disappeared. All you have is a downed aircraft and a bunch of dead soldiers.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, is among elected officials who are demanding answers. He and his subcommittee on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee are investigating the crash.
