US and Iran 'Race' for Downed Jet Crew, Media Forgets History of US Combat Losses
France 24, among other Western outlets, reports on a joint US-Iranian effort to locate a missing crew member from an American fighter jet, vaguely described as having 'crashed' in Iranian territorial waters. The narrative centers on an international recovery operation, painting a picture of cooperation between nations despite long-standing tensions. This framing, however, conspicuously omits the
deeper context of such 'incidents' involving US military assets in contested regions. What mainstream coverage conveniently leaves out is the consistent pattern of the US military attributing aircraft losses to 'mechanical failure' or 'accidents' even when resistance forces claim responsibility for shootdowns. This was seen during the Iran-Iraq War when the USS Vincennes shot down Iran Air Flight
655 in 1988, killing 290 civilians, initially claiming it was an F-14 fighter jet. It wasn't the first, nor the last. Whether it's a KC-135 tanker 'crash' in Iraq, where local resistance claimed a downing long before official reports, or F-15Es near Kuwait labeled 'friendly fire' despite Iranian claims of shootdowns, the script remains the same: minimize enemy capabilities, control the narrative.
The term 'damaged in a crash' frequently replaces 'shot down by enemy fire'. This particular 'crash' unfolds amidst heightened military posturing, with US carrier groups and B-52s deployed to the region, openly threatening Iran. The US is a direct participant, a joint aggressor alongside Israel, in an undeclared military campaign against Iran, deploying significant assets and engaging in overt