The St. Petersburg Times reported Tuesday afternoon that an airman assigned to MacDill AFB, Fla., has died from injuries sustained by an improvised explosive device outside of Baghdad Tuesday local time. The newspaper cites a US military spokeswoman as confirming the airman’s death. The airman’s name is being withheld pending notification of the family, it said. MacDill is home to the 6th Air Mobility Wing as well as US Special Operations Command. According to an Associated Press report earlier on Tuesday, a total of four US servicemen—apparently including this airman—died in two separate IED attacks in Iraq Tuesday local time.
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…