Wednesday, 4 July 2012

Afghan Air Force In Shambles

So far, NATO has supplied about 100 aircraft toward its target of 140 for the air force. But many of those, including fleets of 43 helicopters and 15 cargo planes, have been grounded or stood down in recent months because of problems with maintenance, a lack of spare parts, safety concerns and the need for more thorough inspections, according to Afghan and NATO officials.
"We have raised the issue from the beginning that we were having a lot of problems," said Wardak, who said that despite NATO's contributions, Afghanistan's air force is not strong as it used to be.
"In 1992, when I was chief of staff of the Afghan Army, I had 450 types of air assets. Today, we have 102. One hundred two, but mostly on the ground." 
So much for Obama's smooth handover and transition for this part of the Afghan Security Forces. One of the parts who don't seem to be attacking ISAF troops at present to be fair.
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5 comments:

  1. Tao Dao Man4 July 2012 at 12:33

    No one in their right mind could possibly believe that Afghanistan was meant to be able to take care of themselves after 2014.
    The West will grant them a fish or two.
    But they will never see the fishing net.

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  2. TONY @oakroyd4 July 2012 at 13:14

    You'll have a hard job convincing O's spin men about that, RZ. The Peace of Obama's Speechwriters MK2 is in the pipeline. Something about 'honourable sacrifice' will be in there somewhere.

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  3. Tao Dao Man4 July 2012 at 13:24

    "honourable sacrifice" is code speak for see ya.
    It should be written in stone right now that Karzai is not allowed to leave Afghanistan after 2014.
    He must stay and face the consequences.
    He must not be allowed to retire in the South of France. :-)

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  4. TONY @oakroyd4 July 2012 at 14:01

    I think he will retire to Los Angeles myself. Own chat show? :)

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  5. Tao Dao Man4 July 2012 at 14:11

    Just as long as it is not the Phoenix area. LOL
    Wonder if he indulges in Scottish Whiskey?

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