Afghan air force desperate for aircraft: commander

[unhappycamper]

http://dawn.com/2013/02/13/afghan-air-force-desperate-for-aircraft-commander/



A Russian Mi-17 transport helicopter flies during a flight test of pilots of the Afghan Nationl Army Air Corps lead by US Air Force soldiers over Kandahar in southern Afghanistan

Afghan air force desperate for aircraft: commander
AFP

KABUL: Afghanistan’s fledgling air force is more like a bicycle than a modern fighting machine, its commander has said, pleading for advanced aircraft to fight the Taliban as US-led Nato forces prepare to withdraw.

Air power is crucial in the rugged country where a poor road network is often mined by insurgents, and the Afghan government is pressing hard for the US to boost its air capability before it pulls out next year.

“We will face huge and complicated challenges if the Americans do not provide us with these planes,” Major General Abdul Wahab Wardak told AFP, listing a range of attack and transport aircraft he says Afghanistan needs.

In Washington on Tuesday President Barack Obama announced that 34,000 US troops will withdraw from the country by the end of 2013, with the remaining half leaving by the end of 2014, taking with them their far superior firepower.

[Victor_c3]

1. Afghanistan continues to be a huge mess

The sad thing is I doubt that the eventual outcome in the country will be any different with our military pull-out now than it would be if we stayed in the country for another 10 years or if we would have pulled out of there 5 years ago. It is just a waste of lives and money.