Brainteaser

[webofevil]

A US spy plane goes down in “south west Asia” on a return flight from Afghanistan.

There’s no suggestion of foul play, but the US, who have secured the crash site, do not announce which country the plane went down in. “The specific location is not releasable due to host nation sensitivities,” says a USAF spokesman.

Using the BBC’s map, count how many countries this plane could have crashed in on its way back to Abu Dhabi.




ANSWER: It was a trick question! Sadly for fans of escalating international tension, the plane actually went down in the UAE itself. I'm not sure what those "sensitivities" are that still prevent the exact location being revealed, though. Maybe the regime has a fleet of gold fire engines they don't want their population to see.

Comments

[webofevil.livejournal.com]

That would be Pakistan. Technically there shouldn't be any "sensitivity" if that turned out to be the case (although the Beeb appear to be giving us a bizarre and whopping hint otherwise) - they're a US ally, they're unlike to get any grief for letting the US use their airspace, especially to deal with Afghanistan, there's no reason for them not be dealing with the Muslim UAE... the only real problem there might be that the plane's gone phut over one of the tribal areas where al Qaeda's leadership are allegedly ensconsed, which would be quite amusing.

[webofevil.livejournal.com]

Ah, muffledsqueak squeezed in before me there. Oman, eh? Again, it shouldn't be that sensitive, should it?

All that said, [Bad username or unknown identity: our reasonable overlord] (whom I, for one, welcome) points out that Iran would have gone ballistic by now. On the other hand, it's conceivable that they don't yet know, hence the "where could it be?" game being played by the US military...

[strictlytrue.livejournal.com]

Cower before my reasonableness, ye mere mortal citizens with the right to self-expression and freedom of thought.

A crashed spyplane in Pakistan may not be a problem for the Pakistani Government, but many of the locals, particulary in the east, are none to happy about the US. I seem to recall that there have been problems with the US using Pakistani airspace/moving military supplies through Pakistan during the campaign in Afghanistan.

[strictlytrue.livejournal.com]

Sorry, that should read "west", not "east". As you were.