Confronting a False Meme: Libya’s Deadly ‘Stinger Equivalents’ - By C.J. CHIVERS
Any article about militants obtaining “some of the world’s most sophisticated antiaircraft weapons” is bound to gain notice. But this article was interesting for another reason. Two words leaped out: shoulder-launched.
...
Aviation Week was also unambiguous when asked about whether it had evidence of SA-24 manpads in Libya. “The answer is a definite no,” wrote David Fulghum, one of the reporters who wrote the article cited at the top of this post. “The Russians didn’t supply the manpads version to Libya. I’ve never had any indication there was anything but the twin-mount launcher in Libya.”
...
Human Rights Watch and Mr. Bouckaert have been providing important fact finding and analysis on the many problems posed by weapons proliferation, and Mr. Wedeman has been one of the most consistently brave, relevant and energetic journalists working in Libya. The mistakes here are of a familiar sort. And the value of the shoulder-fired SA-24 reports, and how they have persistently regenerated, is that they serve to remind those who follow these themes just how difficult this all can be, especially when moving quickly or when not vetting unusual finds against multiple independent sources.
http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/24/confronting-a-false-meme-libyas-deadly-stinger-equivalents/
