Desert Two?
April 5, 2026
Digby's Hullabaloo
This looks too familiar The Pentagon reports that in an operation involving hundreds of special operations troops, the U.S. successfully rescued the missing weapons officer from the F-15E shot down on Friday by Iran over Isfahan province. It was the second U.S. plane shot down last week despite Donald Trump’s claims that the U.S. has “overwhelming Air Dominance and Superiority over the Iranian skies.” The New York Times reports: A senior U.S.
military official described the mission to rescue the airman as one of the most challenging and complex in the history of U.S. special operations given the mountainous terrain, the airman’s injuries and Iranian forces rushing to the location. In a final twist after the weapons officer was rescued, two transport planes that would carry the commandos and the airmen to safety got stuck at a remote base in Iran. Commanders decided to fly in three new planes to extract all the U.S. military personnel and the airman, and they blew up the two disabled planes rather than have them fall into Iranian hands It’s great that Pete Hegseth’s “warfighters” don’t just kill but rescue as well. The family of the crewman got its Easter miracle. Still, that photo at the top looks eerily familiar. Those of a certain age will recall the fate of President Carter’s failed attempt in April 1980 to rescue 53 American hostages held by Iran since November 1979. Operation Eagle Claw ended in failure before the rescue. Mechanical problems en route and dust storms
Digby's Hullabaloo
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