Iraq has shot down an advanced U.S. unmanned air
vehicle.
U.S. officials said Iraqi aircraft downed a Predator UAV in southern
Iraq on Monday. They said it was the third Predator aircraft destroyed by
Iraqi fire.
"They got a lucky shot today and they brought down the Predator," Gen.
Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said. "I don't see it
as an escalation. It's something they've been doing for the last couple of
years."
The Predator is regarded as the most advanced UAV in operation, Middle East Newsline reported. The
Predator can transmit images to commanders in real-time and has been
equipped with Hellfire anti-tank missiles.
The destruction of the Predator came as U.S. officials said the Defense
Department has embarked on an open military buildup in the Persian Gulf. The
officials said the buildup is meant to ensure military readiness in case
President George Bush orders an attack on Baghdad in the coming months.
"We're taking prudent and deliberate steps with respect to alerts and
mobilizations and deployment of U.S. forces Ñ active, Guard and Reserve,"
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said. "These include alerting reserve
combat, combat support and combat service support
forces, deployment of combat and combat support forces needed to pave the
way for future deployments in the event that that becomes necessary,
activating mobilization bases for processing of reserve components. I
expect that we and others could continue to make prudent force-flow
decisions in the weeks and months ahead, depending on the degree of Iraqi
cooperation."
