THE PRICE OF POWER: U.S. TANKER CRASH EXPOSES THE CRACKS IN TRUMP’S ‘SHORT EXCURSION’

As a KC-135 goes down in Iraq, the loss of a Cold War workhorse reveals that mechanical fatigue may be a more dangerous foe than Tehran’s remaining missiles.

In the skies over Western Iraq early on Friday morning the non-stop pace of Operation Epic Fury finally reached its limit with old American equipment. A United States Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker, which is like a “flying gas station” for the air war in the Middle East fell into the desert after a crash in the air. While another tanker that was involved in the accident managed to make a difficult emergency landing at an Israeli airbase we still do not know what happened to the six service members who were on the plane that went down as a big search and rescue operation is looking all over the Iraqi desert.

This accident is a change in the conflict. It is different from the three F-15E Strike Eagles that were lost because of ” fire” from Kuwait earlier this month. This time it was not a missile or an enemy plane that caused the loss. According to the United States Central Command it happened because of ” friction” which is a nice way of saying what happens when old planes and very tired crews are pushed too hard. The KC-135 is a plane from the Cold War that first flew when President Eisen hower was in office. Now it is being used to fuel the fast and high-tech flights that are needed to stop the Iran’s missile program.

The timing of the crash is a problem for the White House. A few hours before President Donald Trump said that the military campaign was almost over and that Iran’s military was not a threat anymore.. The loss of a Stratotanker, which is very important for long-range air power shows that even if the enemy is getting weaker the American war machine is starting to have problems. Without these tankers the F-35s and F-15s that are flying over Tehran are basically grounded, which means that the war is not going to be soon.

As search teams look through the wreckage in Iraq people are already arguing about what happened. Some groups that are supported by Iran said that they shot down the tanker. The Pentagon said that is not true and that they are just trying to get attention. However it is clear that the image of a crashed KC-135 is a reminder that in a long war it is not always the enemy that gets tired first sometimes it is the equipment that is supposed to last forever that fails. Operation Epic Fury and the KC-135 Stratotanker are still a part of the news and the KC-135 Stratotanker is a reminder of the importance of the United States Air Force, in the Middle East.

By Anupama Shaw