The Army Times reports:
One proposal to start a war in Iraq: Let Saddam Hussein shoot down an Air Force U-2.
Retired Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Hugh Shelton said he heard that idea in October 1997 from a high-ranking member of the Clinton administration. The revelation is part of Shelton’s new autobiography “Without Hesitation: The Odyssey of an American Warrior,” released on Oct. 12.
Shelton said he agreed to the idea with one major condition, that the unnamed administration member fly the U-2. Needless to say, the idea was never mentioned again to the general.
At that time, U-2 aircraft were on reconnaissance sorties over Iraq and at one of his first breakfasts, one of the cabinet members present said to Shelton, “Hugh, I know I shouldn’t even be asking you this, but what we really need in order to go in and take out Saddam is a precipitous event — something that would make us look good in the eyes of the world. Could you have one of our U-2s fly low enough — and slow enough — so as to guarantee that Saddam could shoot it down?”
“The hair on the back of my neck bristled, my teeth clenched, and my fists tightened,” Shelton wrote. “I was so mad I was about to explode. I looked across the table, thinking about the pilot in the U-2 and responded, ‘Of course we can …’ which prompted a big smile on the official’s face.
“‘You can?’ was the excited reply.
“‘Why, of course we can,'” I countered. ‘Just as soon as we get your ass qualified to fly it, I will have it flown just as low and slow as you want to go.’