Well, chalk another one up to:
1. Incredible, UNacceptable waste of taxpayer dollars.
2. Another prime example of major U.S. policy which never changes, regardless of
who is POTUS.
Folks, why are still in Afghanistan.. spending Billions of our tax dollars? This is obviously nation building
Why are democrats in congress continuing this gigantic waste?
SHINDAND, Afghanistan—Shindand Air Base has an 8,000-foot runway, a gleaming new headquarters complex and a cadre of motivated Afghan pilot candidates.
Because of the way Washington operates, however, it lacks warplanes.
The budding Afghan air force was supposed to receive $355 million worth of planes custom-made for fighting guerrillas well ahead of the U.S. withdrawal in 2014. Equipped with machine guns, missiles and bombs, those reliable, rugged turboprop aircraft are cheaper to operate and easier to maintain than fighter jets.
The Afghans won't get the planes on time. The Air Force initially awarded a contract to a U.S. company to supply Brazilian-designed planes. But it canceled the contract after a Kansas-based plane maker filed suit to block it, and the Air Force decided the contract had insufficient documentation. The Kansas congressional delegation also lobbied hard against the Brazilian plane. The Air Force has started the bidding process again, and a new contract likely won't be awarded until next year.
Afghanistan is unlikely to gain an independent, fully functioning air force until around 2016 or 2017, two to three years after the U.S. pullout, said Air Force Brig. Gen. Timothy Ray, who heads the NATO air training command in Afghanistan.
"They have wasted the most precious commodity they have in combat, which is time," says Edward Timperlake, a former Marine Corps fighter pilot who served as a director of technology assessment at the Pentagon until 2009 and is now retired.
Problems with the Afghan warplanes add to a separate controversy over a $275 million fleet of U.S.-provided C-27A cargo planes that has remained grounded for months because of lack of maintenance and spare parts, information first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
At a meeting with President Hamid Karzai and security officials in late May, the Afghan military expressed "unease" over the slow pace of the air force's revival and asked for urgent talks with the U.S. and allies to tackle the issue, according to a presidential statement.
Really? first of all, please tell me why I or anyone should believe Afghan military people are not corruptible by the Taliban, al Qaeda, drug warlords, etc?
what happens when one of these afghan pilots (or two or three) goes off the res, takes his loaded up jet and starts firing on OUR people? or maybe takes a jaunt over to Pakistan and attacks them? This is beyond absurd folks.
Tell me why Afghanistan needs such an extensive air force when our obv deadly predator and reaper drones are doing just fine dealing with cretins going back and forth across the border with our "ally" Pakistan?
Weak, really weak. Looks like this is the "total" expenditure on U.S.-built bases in Afghanistan thus far:
The U.S. has funded dozens of bases for Afghan army units. The bill has come to $6.7 billion in projects completed, under way or planned since fiscal 2005.
$ 7 Billion, eh? Unreal.
http://online.wsj.com/...
U.S. "parting gift" for Afghanistan:
http://online.wsj.com/...