February 17, 2014. Afghanistan. When Jack Ruby assassinated Lee Harvey Oswald as he was held by government officials in the days after JFK’s murder, most saw it for what it was – the ringmasters of the President’s killing now murdering their own hitman to keep him from ever exposing the truth or a loyal follower of a martyr seeking vengeance.
In 2011, a similar series of events happened when the killers of Osama bin Laden – Seal Team 6 – were themselves set up and slaughtered just 3 months after carrying out that famous secret mission.
When Seal Team 6 killed Osama bin Laden in a May 2011 midnight raid in Pakistan, the news was met with joy by Americans. But many soon believed something fishy was going on when the Obama administration confirmed there was nobody. Instead, officials tried to suggest bin Laden was cremated within 24 hours of death in accordance with Islamic tradition and immediately buried at sea.
They insisted there was no time to fly his corpse anywhere for DNA verification, burial or even a press conference and photo op. Instead, authorities insisted a DNA check was done on-scene and it confirmed the identity of the dead man as Osama bin Laden.
Extortion 17 – The Fatal Mission 
On August 6, 2011 – just three months after the assassination of Osama bin Laden – the same Seal Team that carried out that high-profile targeted killing were themselves killed in a mission surrounded with questionable actions, mistakes, and even the disappearance of the bodies once again. And again, US officials announced that the American soldiers killed had to be immediately cremated.
“I want to know why so many US servicemen, especially SEALs, were assembled on one aircraft,” says the father of Sith Douangdara, one of the 30 fallen US soldiers that day, “I want to know why the black box of the helicopter has not been found.
I want to know many things.” The father of another soldier killed on that mission, Patrick Hamburger, also wants to know why the military sent the troops into enemy fire in a slow-moving, unarmed cargo chopper instead of the usual combat transports which include stealthy fast-moving and missile-evading Blackhawks and Pathfinders.
Another father of a fallen US soldier on that fateful mission, the father of Aaron Vaughn, is so convinced the largest loss of American life in the entire Afghanistan War was a set up and inside job, he wrote a book titled, ‘Betrayed, The Shocking True Story of Extortion 17 as told by a Navy SEAL’s Father.’
In it, the angry and heartbroken father details all the questionable aspects of the mission and subsequent controversy. One of the most vocal of the parents of the 30 fallen US soldiers from Extortion 17 is the father of Michael Strange who has assembled a list of questions and irregularities surrounding the death of his son.
“Hello, I am the Gold Star father of Michael Strange KIA 8-6-2011 along with 29 other men,” Charles Strange wrote to us here at Whiteout Press recently, “We were supposed to start our investigation in Oct, then Feb, now the end of the month.
We need to get the word out. Can you help? This was the biggest loss of life EVER in the history of America – 22 Special Op’s (SEAL Team 6). We must expose who let this happen. Please google Extortion 17.”
Unanswered Questions And Red Flags
Between all the grief-stricken parents of the 30 fallen US soldiers, there is a bevy of unanswered questions, and even some accusations of treason, infiltration and a plain, unadulterated setup. Just some of the questions the parents have are:
- Why did commanders send the 30-man US fighting force into enemy fire in a large, slow-moving, unarmed cargo transport instead of the usual radar and missile evading Black Hawks and Pathfinders?
- Where is the downed helicopter’s black box? US officials claim they can’t find it even though it has a built-in homing beacon.
- In the moments before the mission took off, seven Afghan commandos were allowed to join the force. Who were these men? Who authorized their involvement? Why weren’t their identities checked before they boarded the aircraft?
- Why were the escorting gunships diverted to another location, leaving the men and their cargo transport without any protection or air cover as they tried to land surrounded by enemy forces actively firing at them? Who gave that order and why?
- When the 30-man reinforcement team was on approach, why wasn’t ground fire used to prevent the enemy from firing on the incoming transport as is always done? Who called off or failed to order the protective cover fire?
- Why weren’t the 30 men told what their mission was that night? As detailed by numerous transmissions and reports, the men knew they were flying into a battle zone. But what were they supposed to do once they landed?
- In the hours after the bodies of the 30 US soldiers were recovered, why was a Muslim Imam invited by US commanders to perform a religious ceremony over the corpses in which numerous witnesses reported he damned the boys to hell and condemned America?
- Why were Taliban fighters allowed to occupy two gun towers only 150 yards from the landing spot, unimpeded and allowed to fire on the approaching transport without distraction or return fire?
- Why were 30 Special Ops soldiers all put on one aircraft instead of dividing them up into teams on separate aircraft as is normally done?
- Why were the C-130 gunships, Blackhawks and unmanned missile drones already in the fight for three hours ordered to stay in position and allow the enemy fighters to attack the incoming transport unmolested?
- Why were 47 Army Rangers initially sent to fight house-to-house battles to capture a Taliban leader who wasn’t even in the area and was actually in another town? It was that faulty mission that began the string of subsequent events that fatal night.
- Why were Taliban fighters allowed to infiltrate the landing zone, where they sat and waited with RPG’s and Soviet OG-7 SAM’s until Extortion 17 approached, where they easily shot it down?
- Why did the US military command in Kabul immediately tell the media that the 30 killed US soldiers were on a mission to rescue the trapped Army Rangers when the reality was the exact opposite? The Rangers had cleared the target and surrounding houses and the Taliban was falling back but still fighting to protect their retreat.
- Why were Special Ops forces and Navy Seals used for a frontline battlefield mission to chase low-level Taliban soldiers when their primary missions typically involve rescue operations or covert, secret actions behind enemy lines?
- Why did US commanders choose this mission to be the first known action in the Afghan War where a Seal Team was ordered to fight on the frontline alongside regular Army infantry instead of their typical precise, secretive and extremely targeted operations? Why Seal Team 6? Why this particular mission?
- Why were Taliban forces allowed to change locations and occupy positions near the landing zone in the moments before Extortion 17 approached?
- How and why did the military’s protective ‘eyes in the sky’ over the fatal incident go temporarily blind at the precise moment of Extortion 17’s approach?
- When the US military released its report on the incident, it confirmed that the 7 Afghan commandos on board weren’t the same 7 Afghan commandos that were supposed to be on board. In testimony, one US commander explained, “All seven names were incorrect. And I cannot talk to the back story of why.” Why where all 7 names different and why can’t US commanders comment about it?
- Why were the bodies of the killed US soldiers immediately cremated for no apparent reason?
- Why did the Obama administration inform the world that Seal Team 6 was responsible for killing Osama bin Laden in the first place, putting an eternal and international target on the backs of every single young man in that outfit?
- Why has the Obama administration turned its back on the members of Seal Team 6 that killed bin Laden, with some of those who’ve since left the military found to be either homeless, dead, suicidal, or in some cases, psychologically broken?
From The Parents of The Fallen US Soldiers of Extortion 17
“My thought is they were being set up by the Afghanistan military,” Mr. Hamburger, the father of one of the 30 fallen US soldiers told the Washington Times recently, “I really have a feeling that is why the Afghans were switched at the last minute. That is why they were not on the manifest.
I think that our military discovered that and did not want to disclose that truth to the families. I don’t know that for sure, but you just add everything up that wasn’t right with the mission that night, it really worries you.”
Charles Strange, the father of fallen US soldier Michael Strange and the gentleman who first reached out to us here at Whiteout Press, sums up his questions, outrage and heartache writing:
‘I started out as a Dad wanting answers for my Son’s death. As it turned out I have become a Voice for all30 men aboard Extortion 17. For the past 27 months, my wife and I have made it our quest to get answers to these questions.
Through a lot of research, phone calls, and good old fashioned footwork, we have captured the attention of some prominent members of Congress, the Senate, Politicians and the Military who know that everything about this Mission was definitely compromised.
We demand answers as to why The National Secrets Act was violated and such Treasonous Acts were allowed by our Highest Government Officials and the Highest Echelon of our Military and no one is being held accountable for this! We as Americans and Gold Star Parents of Fallen Heroes want justice. The Warriors upon Extortion 17 deserve to have the truth be told and for justice to be served. They earned that much… don’t you think?’
