CENTCOM has acknowleged that missiles that don't likely to hit anything but sand are being let through.

No point in wasting a few million dollars on a patriot missile to shoot down something that wasn't aimed well to begin with.

Who really cares how many Iraq fires blindly at it's neighbors. The ones we should worry about are the ones that are actually going to hit something, are not picked up by patriot and then kill civilians. So far that hasn't happened... which means that Stephen Hayes is just flapping his gums trying to get a little attention.

A classic example that eye witness reporting is generally wrong. In additon, some stuff (SILWORMs, etc) are too low to even get the Patriots curious

Jim Hogue

"CENTCOM has acknowleged that missiles that don't likely to hit anything but sand are being let through."

Laughable BS. More like missles that can't be hit by Patriots are being let through.

There are documented cases of at least two missiles strikes on populated Kuwaiti areas.

The Iraqis have choosen to use a weapon that the Patriot cannot hit. It is not CENTCOM deciding to let innocous missles through, it is the inability to stop them with Patriots that is the problem.

When did CENTCOM become obligated to give out every detail of every decision at every level?

Despite various media wails, there is no 'right to know' in the Constitution of the United States of America.

Additionally, when did it become expected for the US military to be 100% successful at every damn thing possible. Isn't it enough that we are several freaking orders of magnitude better and more effective than both any modern military and any historical battle? Isn't that enough? Shit, fire everyone, some missilles got through.

WTF! Three weeks ago everyone was warning of Israel being attacked, catastrophic oil fires/spills, NBC attacks, terrorism, arab uprsigings across the mid east, bla bla bla..

Now a few missiles get through and its a major piece of news. The expectations are just rediculous.

Psychotics - please step over the edge. The original report is a rather benign observation regarding accuracy (or inaccuracy) of information. The report was not an attempt to puncture your self-inflated megalomaniacal compensatory projections ... little weenies.

The original report may be but the general conclusions derived by the media and "critics" at large are not a benign observation but a wholly unrealistic perspective.

"I saw a missile." - is a simple statement of an observed fact. It is benign as it has no conclusion and is not critical. More to the point, such observations are the only wholly realistic 'perspective' (from the latin perspectus - (as) seen through, i.e. one's own eyes) in contrast to the factually useless 'pro'spectives.

Magus, it's best to restrict your comments to areas in which you have a clue.

In the first few days of war, the Patriot batteries did in fact deliberately allow some missiles whose projected impact points were nowhere near people or buildings, proceed to impact on target.

IIRC, this was reported at the time as the one that got away. The reason: it was a Seersucker missile that flies too low to be tackled by Patriot. I think it was mentioned that it may have come from the Al-Faw Peninsula.

Seems clear that the iraqis have choosen to use a weapon that the Patriots can't counter.

The idea that CENTCOM is letting them through becasue they are aimed at sand, when they have now struck populated areas in Kuwait on several occassions is childish.

The Iraqi's decision to modify their tactics to successfully overcome the Patriot is not a CENTCOM choice.

Lenny, I don't believe anyone has suggested that all missiles striking populated areas were let through. Someone else has, on the other hand, suggested that Patriot allowing some missiles to fly by unopposed is BS. This is provably wrong.