The Air Force has not found the pilot of the F-16 that crashed in Iraq early Monday morning. An official statement did confirm that insurgents were in the vicinity at the time of the crash. Coalition ground forces had to wait for combat operations in the area to stop before they were able to secure the crash site. Various news reports indicate that the aircraft was assigned to Cannon AFB, N.M., but base officials say all Cannon pilots deployed to Southwest Asia are accounted for.
The Air Force could conduct an operation like Israel's successful air campaign against Iran's nuclear sites, military leadership and air defenses, but readiness issues would make it risky, airpower experts said. Limited spare parts and training, low mission capable rates and few flying hours would put a drag on USAF's…