Headline of the day

From the New York Times: Remnants of Iraq Air Force Are Found.

The Defense Ministry revealed Sunday that it had recently learned that Iraq owns 19 MIG-21 and MIG-23 jet fighters, which are in storage in Serbia. Ministry officials are negotiating with the Serbs to restore and return the aircraft.

You can imagine the scene at Iraqi air force headquarters when this was discovered. Hey guys! We have planes, after all!

Apparently Saddam Hussein sent the jets to Serbia for repairs at the end of the Iran-Iraq war, but economic sanctions prevented the Serbs from returning the jets. You wonder what sort of condition they're in after two decades in a Serbian hangar.

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