Poetic justice

I really ought not be flip about things like this, but it's hard not to.

Sens. Richard C. Shelby, R-Ala., James M. Inhofe, R-Okla., Mel Martinez, R-Fla., and Rep. Robert E. “Bud” Cramer, D-Ala., were uninjured after their C-130 transport plane took evasive measures and dispatched flares to avoid the incoming fire.

Shelby recounted the incident in a conference call with reporters. “I saw the red glare of a shell or a missile coming up toward our plane,” he said, “Then I saw a flare pop out and our plane just started moving and changing directions and trying to move.”

Laura Henderson, a spokeswoman for Shelby, confirmed the details of the attack and said the aircraft landed safely in Amman, Jordan. Henderson did not know whether the attack was being considered as random or if a specific security breach might have compromised the members’ safety.

Which is to say a few things: One, that whatever the situation on the ground, the surge isn't helping the situation in the sky; two, that the surge isn't working on the ground in those portions of Iraq where militants shoot rockets at airplanes; and three, that the situation in Iraq is such that, in the best case scenario, planes are rocketed out of the sky only when organized fighters get word that foreign officials are on board. It's perfectly possible, though, that planes over Iraq are rocketed without particular passenger targets in mind.