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Category: Afghanistan

  • Turkish NATO peacekeepers to stay in Afghanistan another year | Reuters

    Turkish NATO peacekeepers to stay in Afghanistan another year | Reuters

    (Reuters) – Turkish peacekeepers will remain in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul until at least November 2013 after the military agreed to extend its mandate as part of a NATO force by a year, the Turkish military said on Thursday.

    Turkish soldiers took over the Kabul regional command as part of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in November 2009. The military said in a statement that mission had been extended for a year from November 1, 2012.

    The war in Afghanistan, which has failed to defeat the Taliban after more than a decade of fighting, has strained budgets and lost public support in Western nations.

    NATO has said it plans to shift full responsibility for security across the country to Afghan forces by the middle of next year and then withdraw most of the alliance’s 130,000 combat troops by the end of 2014.

    U.S. President Barack Obama has championed a gradual exit of the allied force which does not leave Afghans feeling abandoned, but France has vowed to pull its troops out by the end of the year, two years ahead of the alliance’s timetable.

    (Reporting by Seltem Iyigun; Writing by Nick Tattersall; Editing by Sophie Hares)

    via Turkish NATO peacekeepers to stay in Afghanistan another year | Reuters.

  • Afghanistan Bans YouTube over Prophet Mohammad Video

    The Afghanistan government banned Google’s YouTube today in an attempt to stop its citizens from watching a U.S.-made film insulting the Prophet Mohammad, according to the Ministry of Communications. This particular video has sparked protests in Egypt and Libya and also led to the killing of four Americans. The U.S. ambassador to Libya and three embassy staff were killed while running from a consulate building in Benghazi, which was stormed by gunmen later tied to the militant Islamist organization al Qaeda.

    “We have been told to shut down YouTube to the Afghan public until the video is taken down,” Aimal Marjan, general director of Information Technology at the ministry, told Reuters. In a second report, Reuters said Marjan declined to say if the goal of Afghanistan’s YouTube ban was to prevent Muslims from being offended or to curb violence.

    The film is titled “Innocence of Muslims” and portrays the Prophet as a womanizer and a religious fake. The man who created it, an Israeli-American, describes Islam as a “cancer.” The video has received very contrasting reactions all over the world.

    Afghan President Hamid Karzai unsurprisingly condemned it, saying its producers had done a “devilish act.” He also noted that insulting Islam was not protected by freedom of speech in his country. Meanwhile, US pastor Terry Jones, whose plans to burn the Koran triggered deadly riots in Afghanistan in 2010, approved of the film, and even went as far as promoting it.

    The Afghan government strongly condemned the making of the film as “inhuman and insulting,” deemed it offensive to Islam, and expressed “disgust” for it, according to a statement from the Afghan presidency cited by the AFP. Those in power also said “the heinous act of the filmmaker and fanatic pastor hurts the feelings of the Islamic world”.

    This is not the first time material and actions deemed insulting to Islam have sparked deadly riots in Afghanistan, but it is the first time that it has resulted in YouTube being blocked. The video-sharing site has previously been blocked in China, Morocco, Thailand, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, and Libya, among others.

    Image credit: stock.xchng

    via Afghanistan Bans YouTube over Prophet Mohammad Video.

  • List of aviation accidents and incidents in the War in Afghanistan

    List of aviation accidents and incidents in the War in Afghanistan

    The following is a list aviation accidents and incidents in the War in Afghanistan. It covers both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.

    Contents

    • 1 2012
    • 2 2011
    • 3 2010
    • 4 2009
    • 5 2008
    • 6 2007
    • 7 2006
    • 8 2005
    • 9 2004
    • 10 2003
    • 11 2002
    • 12 2001
    • 13 Contract aircraft, non-military aircraft losses
    • 14 Summary per type
    • 15 Comparisions
      • 15.1 Mi-24 and variants

    2012

    • March 16: A Turkish Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed in Kabul, killing all 12 Turkish soldiers on board and 2 civilians on the ground.[1] It was the deadliest single incident for Turkish forces since the start of the war in Afghanistan in 2001.
    • February 6: an ISAF helicopter crashed with no casualties.[2]
    • USAF Roundel January 19: A US CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan. 6 ISAF officers died.[3]

    2011

    • USAF Roundel September 28: A US AH-1W helicopter crashed on take-off in Helmand province killing one Marine.[4][5]
    • August 8: A NATO CH-47 helicopter hard landed in Paktia province. No casualties were reported.[6]
    • USAF Roundel August 6: A NATO CH-47 Chinook helicopter being flown by the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment and 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment[7][8][9] was shot down by the Taliban using an RPG with 30 American and eight Afghan casualties,[10] as well as a dog. It was the deadliest single incident for American forces since the start of the war in Afghanistan in 2001, surpassing the downing of a Chinook on June 28, 2005 in Kunar province.[11] A reported 22 from the United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group (SEAL Team Six) died.[11]
    • USAF Roundel July 25: A CH-47F Chinook was shot down by an RPG near Camp Nangalam in Kunar Province. Two coalition service members were injured.[12][13]
    • July 7: A NATO helicopter crashed in eastern Afghanistan, no victims were reported[14]
    • June 24: A NATO helicopter made a hard landing in Helmand.[15]

    An M88 Recovery Vehicle hoists the body of a downed French Mirage 2000D aircraft of Nancy – Ochey Air Base during a recovery mission May 27, 2011 in the Bakwa district of Regional Command West in Afghanistan.

    • Afghan National Army emblem.png June 15: An Afghan army Mil Mi-17 crashed in the Kunar province injuring six.[16]
    • PAF Checkerboard June 12: A Polish Land Forces Mil Mi-24V was severely damaged at the Warrior base in Ghazni province. Helicopter written off.[17]
    • French-roundel June 10: French Army Gazelle Viviane crashed about 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Bagram in the north of the country in difficult weather conditions. One person died, the pilot was seriously injured.[18]
    • USAF Roundel June 5: A US Bell OH-58 Kiowa helicopter crashed in the Sabari district of the eastern province of Khost, the coalition said, with the Taliban claiming to have shot the aircraft down. Two service members were killed.[19][20]
    • Royal Australian Air Force roundel.png May 30: An Australian Army CH-47D Chinook helicopter crashed in Zabul Province 90 km east of Tarin Kowt. The Chinook caught fire after impact, and one of the passengers on board the aircraft later died from injuries sustained in the crash. Five other Australians on board the chopper suffered minor injuries.[21]
    • USAF Roundel May 26: A US Boeing AH-64 Apache helicopter crashed in Paktika Province. One crew member killed in the incident.[22]
    • May 24: NATO chopper crashes in western Afghanistan, no victims were reported.[23]
    • French-roundel May 24: French Air Force Dassault Mirage 2000D crashed 100 kilometers west of Farah. Both crew members successfully ejected and were rescued.[24]
    • May 15: A Canadian CH-47D Chinook turned on its side as it landed. Four Canadian soldiers were injured during a “hard landing” on a river bed in Afghanistan. The accident occurred during night operations by the Quebec-based Royal 22e Régiment in the Horn of Panjwaii.[25][26]
    • Afghan National Army emblem.png May 11 : An Afghan army Mi-17 crashed in the Nuristan province after hitting a tree, injuring nine soldiers.[27]
    • USAF Roundel April 23: A US OH-58 Kiowa helicopter went down after apparently hitting a cable between two mountains in Kapisa province, northeast of the capital Kabul. One crew member was killed.[28]
    • French-roundel February 5 a French Army Eurocopter Tiger crashed in Afghanistan’s eastern district of Lateh Band near the capital Kabul.[29][30]
    • PAF Checkerboard January 26: A Polish Land Forces Mil Mi-24V rolled over on its side after experiencing mechanical trouble during takeoff from a military base in Ghazni district of Ghazni province.[31]

    2010

    • French-roundel November 28: French Navy Dassault Rafale fighter crashed off Pakistan after its pilot parachuted to safety. The Rafale was operating from the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, which at the time was supporting NATO operations in Afghanistan.[32]
    • French-roundel November 3: French Army Gazelle Viviane crashed in Nijrab province. Both pilots escaped unhurt.[33]
    • USAF Roundel September 21: A US Army UH-60 Blackhawk crashed in Zabul province, killing 9 soldiers on board.[34][35][36]
    • August 19: Eight service members belonging to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) were injured on Thursday when their helicopter made a hard landing in southern Afghanistan, officials said.[37]
    • RAF Roundel August 10: A British RAF CH-47D Chinook crashed in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan . “The helicopter due to technical problems crashed in Gereshk district at 04:00 a.m. local time, as a result one soldier sustained injury,” spokesman for provincial administration Daud Ahmadi told Xinhua. Meanwhile, a NATO source with press department in southern region confirmed the incident, saying it was a hard landing and all four aboard were rescued safe and sound.[38][39]
    • August 5: A Canadian CH-47D Chinook was shot down in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. It made a hard landing and burned out on the ground, wounding eight soldiers.[40]
    • USAF Roundel July 31: A US helicopter crashed in province of Kunar [41]
    • USAF Roundel July 26: A US CH-47 Chinook helicopter crashed in Pul-e-Charkhi area east of capital city Kabul.Two NATO troops were killed.[42][43]
    • USAF Roundel July 22: A US AH-1W SuperCobra was shotdown in Helmand province, killing two US servicemen.[44][45][46][47]
    • June 25: An ISAF helicopter made a hard landing caused by mechanical problems on June 25 in Kunar Province in eastern Afghanistan. All aboard were evacuated to a nearby ISAF medical treatment facilities. No fatalities were reported. The incident is under investigation.[48]
    • RAF Roundel June 23: A British RAF Mk3 Merlin made a heavy landing at a forward operating base in the Lashkar Gar area of Helmand province. No-one was seriously injured and the incident was determined to be a non-hostile event.[49] A U.S. Marine Corps CH-53E was used to recover the aircraft and transport it to Camp Bastion.[50]
    • USAF Roundel June 21: A US Army UH-60 Blackhawk crashed in northern Kandahar Province, killing three Australian Commandos and the US crew chief, and injuring another seven Australians and a US crewman.[51][52][53]
    • USAF Roundel June 9: A Sikorsky HH-60 Pave Hawk CSAR helicopter was shot down in Helmand province, killing 5 American airmen.[54][55][56][57]
    • RAF Roundel May 21: A Westland Sea King carrying five troops was hit by an RPG and crash-landed in Nad-e Ali, Helmand Province. The five were injured but not seriously.[58]
    • USAF Roundel May 14 An UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter made a hard landing in Kandahar Province causing injuries to several coalition and Afghan military personnel. It was destroyed on the site by ISAF members, apparently to prevent it from falling into insurgents’ hands.[59]
    • USAF Roundel May 10 An MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter made a controlled landing after being hit by enemy fire in Helmand Province. All crewmembers have been safely returned to base. Helicopter was destroyed by international forces .[60]
    • USAF Roundel April 9 A US Air Force CV-22 Osprey crashed near Qalat, Zabul Province, killing three US service members and one government contractor.[61] This is the first combat loss of an Osprey.[62]
    • USAF Roundel March 31: US Navy E-2 Hawkeye surveillance plane stationed with the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower crashed in the Arabian sea at approximately 2 p.m. local time while returning from an operational flight conducted as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. The one U.S. crew member presumed missing was declared dead and three were rescued.[63]
    • USAF Roundel March 28: A US Army UH-60 Black Hawk crashed in Zabul province in southern Afghanistan. 14 ISAF and Afghan service members were injured.[64]
    • March 23: A Turkish Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter experienced technical problems as it tried to land at a base in Maidan Shar, the capital of Wardak province. It hit a hill as it was coming down and rolled over.[65]

    2009

    • USAF Roundel December 11:A USAF HH-60G Pave Hawk crash landed after receiving heavy machine gun fire in an LZ and forced to land 2 miles away from where they took off, the aircraft was later destroyed. The co-pilot suffered minor injuries.[66]
    • PAF Checkerboard December 3: A Polish Land Forces Mi-24V Hind attack helicopter was damaged after making an emergency autorotation landing immediately after taking off from Ghazni airfield in Afghanistan. The crew and passengers were not seriously injured.[67]
    • USAF Roundel October 26: A US MH-47G Chinook crashed in Badghis province, in western Afghanistan reportedly due to low visibility caused by “thick dust stirred up” during takeoff at night,[68][69] killing seven US servicemen and three US Drug Enforcement Administration agents. 14 Afghan and 11 American servicemen and one US DEA agent were injured in the crash.[70][71][72]
    • USAF Roundel October 26: Two US helicopters collided in midair in southern Afghanistan, killing four US Marines and injuring two ISAF servicemen.[71] The helicopters were a UH-1N Twin Huey and an AH-1W SuperCobra from the USMC.[73][74]
    • USAF Roundel October 17: A US UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter had crashed due to a high level wind sheer in search of the missing C-12 Huron, no injuries.[75]
    • USAF Roundel October 13: A US Army C-12 Huron twin-engine turboprop had crashed in Nuristan province. Its remnants were discovered on October 19, with three bodies of American civilian personnel.[75][76]
    • Afghan National Army emblem.png October 8: An Afghan National Army Air Corps Antonov An-32 S/N 354 crashed on landing in Southwestern Afghanistan.[77]
    • RAF Roundel August 30: CH-47 Chinook( S/N ZA673) suffered a hard landing and was badly damaged in the Sangin area of Helmand province. The four crew and 15 soldiers from the 2 Rifles battlegroup were unharmed.[78]
    • USAF Roundel August 25: A US Navy F/A-18C Hornet aircraft caught fire during maintenance at Kandahar airbase and was burnt out.[79]
    • RAF Roundel August 20: A British CH-47 Chinook (S/N ZA709) was shot down in the Sangin area of Helmand province. The crew survived.[80]
    • PAF Checkerboard August 6: A Polish Land Forces Mi-24V Hind attack helicopter en route to Ghazni from Kabul was reported hit by heavy machine gun fire and forced to make a hard landing. Nobody aboard was injured.[81]
    • RAF Roundel July 20: A British Royal Air Force GR4 Tornado fighter jet crashed at Kandahar air base during takeoff at 7:20 a.m., the two pilots were injured after ejecting from the aircraft.[82]
    • USAF Roundel July 18: A U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet crashed in central Afghanistan, killing the two crew members.[83]
    • July 7: A Canadian CH-146 Griffon crashed in Zabul, Afghanistan, killing 3 coalition soldiers.[84]
    • USAF Roundel May 22: A US AH-64 Apache helicopter crashed near Tarin Kowt in Uruzgan Province. One crew member killed in the incident.[85]
    • RAF Roundel May 14: A British Harrier GR9 jet crashed in Afghanistan the Ministry of Defence said. The pilot is believed to have suffered only minor injuries when he ejected from the aircraft after it crash landed at Kandahar airfield at about 10:30am local time. It is believed there were no other casualties.[86][87]
    • USAF Roundel January 17: A US CH-47 Chinook helicopter crashed in eastern Afghanistan. Small arms fire was involved. One US soldier was killed in the incident.[88]
    • USAF Roundel January 16: A US UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed in Afghanistan on the outskirts of Kabul. No deaths were reported.[89]
    • Afghan National Army emblem.png January 15: An Afghan army Mi-17 crashed in the Adraskan District of Herat province, killing all 13 on board, including General Fazaludin Sayar, the regional commander in charge of the western part of Afghanistan. The government declared the crash was due to bad weather, while the Taliban claimed to have shot the helicopter down.[90]

    2008

    • USAF Roundel October 27: A US UH-60 Black Hawk was shot down in Wardak Province, with no fatalities.[91] Taliban forces claim to have used a Rocket-propelled grenade. The 10 soldiers on board were rescued.
    • USAF Roundel October 21: A United States Navy P-3 Orion reconnaissance and intelligence aircraft overshot the runway at Bagram Air Base while landing. The aircraft caught fire and was destroyed but the only injury to the crew was one broken ankle. The aircraft was from PATWING 5 from Naval Air Station Brunswick and was assigned to CTF-57 in Afghanistan.[92]
    • RAF Roundel September 4: A British Army Air Corps Apache AH1 crashed shortly after takeoff in Helmand province. Both crew members were unhurt.[93]
    • August 8: United Arab Emirates Air Force C-130 Hercules (S/N 1212) Overran runway at Bagram Air Base, Kabul, and caught fire. The plane was partially salvaged.
    • USAF Roundel July 2: A US UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter was shot down by RPG and small arms fire south of the Afghan capital in Logar province. The pilots were able to land the aircraft and evacuate everyone on board before it caught fire, another helicopter returned later and destroyed the wreckage with precision fire.[94]
    • USAF Roundel June 25: A US-led coalition forces helicopter crashed in northeastern province of Kunar in Afghanistan, causing “minor injuries” to two soldiers on board.[95]
    • USAF Roundel June 5: A US OH-58 Kiowa crashed at Kandahar Army Airfield, Afghanistan during a test flight killing the maintenance pilot and his crew chief. They were assigned to the 96th Aviation Support Battalion, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade.[96]

    2007

    • Afghan National Army emblem.png December 10: An Afghan army Mi-17 helicopter crashed in heavy fog about 70 kilometres southwest of Kabul, killing four soldiers.
    • Roundel of the German Air Force border.svg September 25: A German CH-53G helicopter crash-landed in the border area between RC-North and West during a med-evac. No soldiers were killed during this incident. The helicopter was blown up by Norwegian and Latvian forces after they had spent two days under siege by Taliban forces.[citation needed]
    • September 25 Spanish Eurocopter AS332 SAR helicopter (S/N HD.21-6) overturned while trying to land during a mission to evacuate Afghan police wounded by a roadside bomb in the western province of Badghis. Helicopter written off.[97]
    • RAF Roundel August 23: A RAF C-130 Hercules made a hard landing at night on an airstrip in Afghanistan. The Hercules, from 47 RAF Lyneham, was badly damaged and could not be recovered. It was blown up by British engineers so that sensitive equipment would not fall into enemy hands. No casualties were reported.[98][99]
    • August 21: An Italian AB-212 helicopter crashes while attempting an emergency landing due to technical problems, 3 Italian soldiers wounded.[100]
    • USAF Roundel August 10: A US CH-47 Chinook s/n 83-24123 while on the ground at Bagram Air Base, taxied into another parked CH-47D aircraft (84-24182) and was severely damaged. There were no fatalities. Aircraft written off.[101]
    • USAF Roundel May 30: A US CH-47 Chinook was shot down, in the upper Sangin valley, killing 5 American, one British and one Canadian soldiers. Until July 25, 2010, officially its downing was attributed to small arms and rocket-propelled grenade. It became clear that it was downed by a MANPADS as the Coalition forces generally downplay or even deny any SAM attack by Taliban insurgents[102][103][104]
    • USAF Roundel February 18: A US MH-47 Chinook from 2-160th SOAR carrying 22 U.S. servicemen crashed in Zabul Province, killing 8 and injuring 14.[105]

    2006

    • RAF Roundel September 2: A British Nimrod MR.2 aircraft catches fire after in-flight refueling, explodes and crashes near Kandahar, killing 14 crewmembers.
    • KLu Roundel August 31: A Dutch F-16A Block 20 MLU fighter crashes near Ghazni, killing the pilot.[106]
    • USAF Roundel July 2: A US AH-64 Apache out of Kandahar air base crashes, killing one pilot CW3 William Timothy Flanigan and injuring the other.[107]
    • USAF Roundel June 11 A US CH-47 Chinook helicopter 91-0497 suffered emergency landing in Helmand Province.Aircraft subsequently deliberately destroyed by coalition airstrike.[108]
    • RAF Roundel May 24: A RAF C-130 Hercules (XV206) crashes after a minestrike during landing at a dirt landing strip outside the town of Lashkar Gar. All nine crew and 26 passengers aboard safely evacuated, but the airframe burned out.
    • USAF Roundel May 5: A US CH-47 Chinook helicopter crashed in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan, killing all 10 U.S. soldiers on board.
    • USAF Roundel April 28: A US AH-64 Apache helicopter crashed north of Qalat, Afghanistan. Pilot survived with minor injuries, while co-pilot/gunner 1LT Daniel McConnell suffered a traumatic amputation of right arm.[109]

    2005

    • USAF Roundel December 4: A CH-47 Chinook helicopter 91-00269 was struck by small arms fire.There were two injuries and the aircraft was consumed in the post-landing fire.[110]
    • KLu Roundel October 31: A Dutch CH-47D Chinook helicopter, D-104, made a hard landing after losing power in cruise flight. There were several injuries and the aircraft was destroyed by Dutch troops after salvaging usable parts.[111]
    • USAF Roundel October 22: UH-60 Black Hawk crashes in Oruzgan province, injuring three.[112]
    • RAF Roundel October 14: An RAF Harrier GR7A was destroyed and another had been damaged in a rocket attack by Taliban forces while parked on the tarmac at Kandahar. No one was injured in the attack. The damaged Harrier was repaired at the airfield while the destroyed one was replaced by another fighter which flew out from Britain on the same evening.[113]
    • USAF Roundel October 7: A MH-47E Chinook helicopter, 89-00160, of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment was destroyed in an accident but all crew members emerged virtually unscathed.[114]
    • USAF Roundel September 25: Five US soldiers were killed when a CH-47 Chinook helicopter crashed in Zabul province while returning from an operation.[115] Though initially reported as an accident, the crash was later confirmed to have been caused by hostile fire.[116]
    • Afghan National Army emblem.png September 10: An Afghan army Mi-17 helicopter crashed in the Panjshir Valley following a memorial ceremony marking the 4th anniversary of the assassination by Al Qaeda of rebel commander Ahmed Shah Masood.Two passengers were injured, but no one was killed, in the helicopter which was carrying military and government officials from the memorial events.[112][117]
    • August 16: Seventeen Spanish soldiers were killed when their Cougar AS532 helicopter crashes near Herat. A second Spanish helicopter made an emergency landing, injuring five soldiers. The crash was reported as an accident, although witnesses said they took AAA fire from a nearby village.
    • USAF Roundel July 29: A US AH-64 Apache helicopter crashed near Baghram airbase.The crew survived.
    • KLu Roundel July 27: A Dutch CH-47D Chinook helicopter, D-105, crashed in a landing incident in a brownout while inserting troops. No injuries but the aircraft was written-off.[111]
    • USAF Roundel June 28: A US CH-47 Chinook helicopter was shot down in Kunar province by Taliban commander Qari Ismail, killing all 16 US Special Forces servicemen on board. The US military says it was shot down by a rocket-propelled grenade. The helicopter was on a rescue mission for Operation Red Wings a team of four SEAL members, pinned down by Taliban gunmen.[118][119]
    • RAF Roundel June 25: A Special Forces RAF Hercules carrying the new British ambassador in Afghanistan caught fire after setting down at a landing strip outside the town of Lashkar Gah in Helmand Province. No casualties reported.[120]
    • USAF Roundel June 22: U-2 spyplane crashes at Al Dhafra Air Base in the UAE on return from a mission in Afghanistan, killing the pilot.[121]
    • USAF Roundel April 6: A US CH-47 Chinook helicopter crashed in a sandstorm near Ghazni, killing all 15 American soldiers and three civilian contractors.

    2004

    • USAF Roundel December 16: A US OH-58 Kiowa crashes north of Shindand, in Afghanistan’s Herat province, injuring its two pilots.[122]
    • USAF Roundel October 20: HH-60 Pave Hawk N87-26014 crashes during a med-evac injuring four on board and killing Jesse Samek.[123]
    • KLu Roundel August 29: A Dutch AH-64D Apache, designation Q-20, crashes near Kabul, slightly injuring one crew member.[124]
    • USAF Roundel August 12: UH-60 Black Hawk crashes in Khost province, killing one soldier and injuring fourteen.
    • USAF Roundel June 28:The crew of an AH-64DApache helicopter escaped with minor injuries after being forced to make an emergency landing north of Qalat.The aircraft caught on fire and was completely destroyed.[125]

    2003

    • USAF Roundel November 23: MH-53 Pave Low helicopter crashed shortly after leaving Bagram Air Base, killing four U.S. airmen and one U.S. soldier.[126]
    • USAF Roundel November 6: UH-1N Huey crashes at Kandahar air base Camp Rhino.[127]
    • USAF Roundel June 3: A US AH-64 Apache helicopter (N 89-0258) crashed near Urgun Paktika Province.The crew survived.
    • USAF Roundel April 23: A US CH-47 Chinook helicopter (N 90-0217) suffered hard landing in Spinboldak area .The crew survived.
    • USAF Roundel March 23: Komodo 11 a HH-60 Pave Hawk crashes in Afghanistan, killing six on board.[128]
    • USAF Roundel January 30: UH-60 Black Hawk crashes 7 miles east of Bagram Air Base, killing four.
    • USAF Roundel January 8: A US helicopter (type unknown) crashes in Kunar province, killing five Americans and two Afghans.[129]

    2002

    • Roundel of the German Air Force border.svg December 21: CH-53G crashed in Kabul, killing seven German soldiers.
    • December 19: F-16A Block 20 MLU fighter overran a runway at Bagram airbase and landed about 500 meters away in a mine field. The Danish Air Force pilot was evacuated to a US Army hospital.[130]
    • USAF Roundel November 1: Two CH-47 Chinook helicopters collided in Afghanistan.One of them crashed ,another was repaired later[127]
    • USAF Roundel August 13: A US AH-64 Apache helicopter crashed about 20 miles south of Kabul.The crew survived.[130]
    • USAF Roundel August 13: HH-60 Pave Hawk crashed in Urgun, injuring six on board. A civilian wounded in an ambush had been taken from the eastern town of Khost to a U.S. medical team in Urgun, and the Air Force helicopter was leaving when the accident occurred.[131]
    • USAF Roundel June 12: MC-130H Combat Talon crashed in eastern Afghanistan, killing three of the ten service members aboard.[132]
    • USAF Roundel April 11, AH-64 Apache crash-lands outside of Kandahar.[133]
    • USAF Roundel March 4: Two CH-47 Chinook helicopters were hit by RPGs and gunfire during Operation Anaconda. Two were killed in the first helicopter, which was dropping off a SEAL team. The second Chinook came in later that day to try to rescue the crew of the first CH-47, and subsequently was shot down, killing four.
    • USAF Roundel February 13: MC-130P Shadow crashed in eastern Afghanistan. There were no casualties.[134]
    • USAF Roundel January 28: CH-47 Chinook crashed in eastern Afghanistan due to a brownout, injuring 14 soldiers.
    • USAF Roundel January 20: CH-53E from HMM-361 crashed 40 miles south of Bagram air base killing two Marines on board.[135]
    • USAF Roundel January 9: A KC-130 Hercules tanker crashed into a Pakistani mountain, killing seven Americans on board.

    2001

    • USAF Roundel December 12: A US B-1 Lancer bomber returning from a mission over Afghanistan crashes 30 miles north of Diego Garcia. All 4 crew members eject safely.[136]
    • USAF Roundel December 6: UH-1N Huey crashes at Kandahar air base, two Marines suffered minor injuries.[137]
    • USAF Roundel November 20: MH-6J crashed at a base, wounding 4 on board.
    • USAF Roundel November 2: MH-53 Pave Low crashed on a special operations mission in northern Afghanistan due to bad weather, injuring four on board.
    • USAF Roundel October 19: UH-60 Black Hawk crashed at Dalbandin air base in Pakistan, killing two U.S. Army rangers. The cause was brownout from dust kicked up by the helicopter rotor.[138]

    Contract aircraft, non-military aircraft losses

    • Flag of the United Kingdom.svg* February 11, 2012: A Mi-8 helicopter under contract for NATO forces crashed in southern Afghanistan and at least four people on board were killed.The aircraft, owned by the Kabul-based logistics company Supreme and crewed by four Tajik civilians, went down somewhere in the west of Zabul province.[139]
    • * January 16, 2012: A Bell 214 helicopter under contract for NATO forces crashed and burst in flames in Nadali district near Shora area of southern Helmand province, Afghanistan.All three people on board were killed.[140]
    • Flag of Azerbaijan.svg July 6, 2011: IL-76 cargo plane, registered 4K-AZ55, was destroyed in an accident near Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan. The plane is said to have flown into the side of a mountain at about 12,500 feet (3,800 meters).The transport plane carried a total of 18 tons of cargo for the NATO-led forces at Bagram Air Base.[141]
    • Flag of Ghana October 12, 2010: A L-100-30 Lockheed Hercules (Leased from Transafrik Registration 5X-TUC)cargo plane crashed in a fireball and plummeted into a mountain crevice near the Afghan capital. Eight crew members (six Filipinos, one Indian and one Kenyan) were all killed.[142]
    • July 28, 2010: Antonov An-12 cargo plane crash-landed in Helmand Province.There were no injuries during the crash.Aircraft destroyed.[143]
    • Flag of South Africa June 4, 2010: A L-100-30 Lockheed Hercules (Leased from Transafrik Registration S9-BAT) sustained substantial damage in a landing accident at Sharana AB, Afghanistan. The airplane came to rest beside the runway. The number 4 propeller separated from the engine and the undercarriage was pushed up into the wheel wells.[144]
    • Kazakhstan May 30, 2010: A Mi-8 contract helicopter made a hard landing in the Jaji district of Paktiya Province. A civilian on the ground was killed when he was struck by debris, and three crew members received minor injuries.[145]
    • Flag of Kyrgyzstan May 2, 2010: A Mi-8 helicopter (EX-40008) under contract for NATO forces in Afghanistan crashed during emergency landing at FOB Kalagush,Nuristan. Crewmembers injured during the incident.[146]
    • April 25, 2010: A Bell 214 helicopter under contract for NATO forces made an emergency landing, due to mechanical problems suffered during the flight, in Farah Province. No one was injured during the incident.The helicopter caught fire after the crewmembers and passengers left the helicopter. Due to the fire damage the helicopter was deemed unrecoverable.[147]
    • Turkey March 1, 2010: A Airbus A300 cargo plane operating for DHL Airways leased from ACT Airlines reportedly registered TC-ACB, suffered a landing mishap at Bagram Air Base , Afghanistan. It came to rest on the left runway shoulder of runway 03, approximately 500 ft north of taxiway Charlie and just south of the 3000 feet remaining distance marker.It has been reported that the airplane suffered a collapse of, presumably the left hand, main undercarriage.Aircraft written off.[148]
    • United Arab Emirates November 23, 2009: A Mi-8 helicopter under contract for NATO forces crashed in eastern Logar province.Three Ukrainians were killed in the crash. Helicopter belonged to Air Freight Aviation(UAE).[149]
    • Russia July 19, 2009: A Mi-8 helicopter under contract for NATO forces in Afghanistan crashed at Kandahar air base, killing 16 people and wounding five others. Helicopter belonged to Vertikal-T (Russia).[150]
    • Moldova July 14, 2009: A Mi-26 helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan, killing the six Ukrainian crewmembers. The aircraft belonged to Pectox-Air, a Moldovan aviation firm.[151]
    • Kazakhstan February 14, 2008: A Kazakhstan registered (UN-76020) IL-76 operated by Asia Continental Airlines damaged beyond repair after an engine fire in Kandahar Airport.[152]
    • RussiaDecember 3, 2006: A Mi-26 helicopter under contract with Dyncorp, a US security company, crashes in Afghanistan, killing eight Russian crew.Helicopter belonged to Vertikal-T (Russia).[153]
    • July 27, 2006: A chartered Mi-8 helicopter with 16 passengers and crew crashes en route from Khost to Kabul, killing all on board including 2 Dutch ISAF soldiers.[154]
    • Ukraine April 24, 2006: An An-26 leased by the US State Department and carrying US DEA agents crashes on landing at Bost airport in Lashkar Gah, killing the two Ukrainian pilots and two young girls on the ground. The plane attempted to avoid a truck during landing[155]
    • Georgia (country) November 11, 2005: A Georgian registered IL-76 operated by Pakistan’s Royal Airlines, on charter to carry food for coalition troops, crashes near Khak-e-Shahidan village, about 30 kilometres (19 mi) northwest of Kabul, killing all 8 crew members (5 Russians, 2 Ukrainians and 1 Pakistani)[156]
    • KazakhstanApril 25, 2005:: A Kazakhstan registered (UN-11003) Antonov An-12 cargo plane swerved off the runway at Kabul Airport. Five of the six crew members were slightly injured.Aircraft written off.[157]
    • Moldova December 30, 2004: A Moldovan registered (ER-IBM) IL-76 operated by Airline Transport crashed in Kabul Airport at 03:48.[158]
    • United States November 27, 2004: A US Registered CASA 212 contracted by the US Department of Defense to supply American forces deployed in remote areas of Afghanistan entered a box canyon and struck the 14,650 foot level of Baba Mountain, which has a peak elevation of 16,739 feet. The flight was about 25 nm north of the typical route between Bagram and Farah. All six occupants were killed[159]
    • Australia February 22, 2004: AB-212 helicopter crashed after coming under fire 65 kilometres south-west of the southern city of Kandahar.Pilot Mark Burdorf, 45 years-old, killed. Helicopter belonged to Pacific Helicopters(Australia).[160]

    Summary per type

    Question book-new.svg This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.
    Rotary-wing losses

    105 (18 to hostile fire)

    Type # Hostile fire
    AB-212 1
    AH-1W Supercobra 3
    AH-64 Apache 11
    UH-60 Black Hawk 17 4
    CH-47 Chinook 29 10
    CH-53E Super Stallion 1
    CH-53 Sea Stallion 3
    CH-146 Griffon 1
    Cougar AS532 2
    Super Puma AS332 1
    Eurocopter Tiger 1
    HH-60 Pave Hawk 4 1
    MH-53 Pave Low 2
    MH-6J 1
    Mil Mi-17 5
    Mil Mi-24 4 1
    Merlin MK3 1
    OH-58 Kiowa 4 1
    Aerospatiale Gazelle 2
    Westland Sea King 1 1
    CV-22 Osprey 1
    UH-1N Huey 3
    Unknown 8
    		Fixed-wing losses

    23 (*1 to hostile fire while on the ground)

    Type # Hostile fire
    F-15 Eagle 1
    F-16 Falcon 2
    F-18 Hornet 1
    Dassault Rafale 1
    Mirage 2000 1
    C-130 Hercules 5
    Antonov An-32 1
    C-12 Huron 1
    GR-4 Tornado 1
    MC-130 Combat Talon/Shadow 2
    Nimrod MR.2 1
    P-3 Orion 1
    U-2 1
    E-2 Hawkeye 1
    B-1 Lancer 1
    Harrier 2 *1

    Contract aircraft losses

    22

    Type # Hostile fire
    IL-76 4
    Airbus A-300 1
    Antonov An-12 2
    Antonov An-26 1
    Lockheed Hercules L 100-30 2
    CASA 212 1
    Mi-26 2 1
    Mi-8/17 6
    AB 212 1 1
    Bell 214 2

    |} Notes:

    • Numerous crashes and shootdowns involving UAVs are not included in the lists above, because UAVs crash more than manned aircraft.
    • Summaries are calculated based on the incidents included in this article.

    Comparisions

    This section is mainly designed for compare between aicraft losses during War in Afghanistan threw the decades. Some types of aicrafts were used before and now, of course sometimes with heavy or light modifications. The weapon of insurgents changed also in the history, but especially in two last wars were similar, differing in number of course.

    Mi-24 and variants

    The Mi-24 was a helicopter used widely during the War in Afghanistan of Soviet-era times. Today there were about 17 deployed Mi-24 (and Mi-35) for use on NATO side (mainly by Polish army and Afghan National Army[161].[162][163] [164]From 17 deployed 3 were lost(06-03-2012) what gives ~ 17.65% loss.

    Comparing with Soviet era mi-24 they have lost ~74[165]. It is hard to find the total number of mi24 used in Afghanistan[166] but at the end of 1990 whole Soviet Army had 1,420 Mi-24[167]. During Afghan war the sources estimates the strength of the helicopter up to 600 machines per year, from that up to 250 may be a mi-24[168].

    That gives up to ~29.6 % loss, which makes it possible because this was a main type of helicopter used during war[169] and insurgents was widely supplied by for e.g. U.S. with new(in 80s) rockets [170]

  • Obama: the US can no longer fight the world’s battles

    Obama: the US can no longer fight the world’s battles

    President plans to cut half a million troops and says US can’t afford to wage two wars at once
    obamaThe mighty American military machine that has for so long secured the country’s status as the world’s only superpower will have to be drastically reduced, Barack Obama warned yesterday as he set out a radical but more modest new set of priorities for the Pentagon over the next decade.

    obama graphic

    After the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that defined the first decade of the 21st century, Mr Obama’s blueprint for the military’s future acknowledged that America will no longer have the resources to conduct two such major operations simultaneously.

    Instead, the US military will lose up to half a million troops and will focus on countering terrorism and meeting the new challenges of an emergent Asia dominated by China. America, the President said, was “turning the page on a decade of war” and now faced “a moment of transition”. The country’s armed forces would in future be leaner but, Mr Obama pointedly warned both friends and foes, sufficient to preserve US military superiority over any rival – “agile, flexible and ready for the full range of contingencies and threats”.

    The wider significance of America’s landmark strategic change was underlined by British Defence Secretary Philip Hammond, who used a visit to Washington to warn that America must not delay the production of US warplanes bound for British aircraft carriers. The US strategy is expected to make a drawdown of some of the 80,000 troops based in Europe.

    “We have to look at the relationship with Americans in a slightly different light,” Mr Hammond told Channel 4 News. “Europeans have to respond to this change in American focus, not with a fit of pique but by pragmatic engagement, recognising that we have to work with Americans to get better value for money.”

    But there is little doubt that Europe will be a much-reduced priority under the new scheme. The blueprint’s status as the president’s own property, after a first three years in office dominated by wars he had inherited from his predecessor, was underlined by his rare personal appearance at the Pentagon flanked by Defence Secretary Leon Panetta and other top uniformed officials.

    Henceforth, Mr Obama underlined, the priorities would be maintaining a robust nuclear deterrent, confronting terrorism and protecting the US homeland, and deterring and defeating any potential adversary. To these ends, the US will also boost its cyberwarfare and missile defence capabilities.

    At the same time, iIf all goes to plan, the centre of gravity of the US defence effort will shift eastwards, away from Europe and the Middle East. The focus will be on Asia and – both he and Mr Panetta made abundantly clear without specifically saying so – in particular on an increasingly assertive China, already an economic superpower and well on the way to becoming a military one as well.

    The specifics of the new proposals, set out in a document entitled “Sustaining US Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense”, have yet to be fleshed out. But they are likely to entail a reduction of up to 490,000 in a total military personnel now standing at some 1.6 million worldwide, as well as cuts in costly procurement programmes – some originally designed for a Cold War environment.

    The “Obama Doctrine” reflects three basic realities. First, the long post-9/11 wars are finally drawing to a close. The last US troops have already left Iraq, while American combat forces are due to be out of Afghanistan by the end of 2014 (though a limited number may stay on as trainers and advisers).

    Second, and as the President stressed in a major speech during his recent visit to Australia, America’s national interest is increasingly bound up with Asia, the world’s economic powerhouse, and where many countries are keen for a greater US commitment as a counterweight to China.

    Third, and most important, are the domestic financial facts of life, at a moment when government spending on every front is under pressure. For years the Pentagon has been exempt – but no longer, as efforts multiply to rein in soaring federal budget deficits.

    At $662bn, Pentagon spending for fiscal 2013 will exceed the next 10 largest national defence budgets on the planet combined. Even so, that sum is $27bn less than what President Obama wanted, and $43bn less than the 2012 budget.

    www.independent.co.uk, 06 JANUARY 2012

  • Bin Laden honored in Turkey

    Bin Laden honored in Turkey

    ISTANBUL. – The demonstration dedicated to 18 Turkish Taliban members, who died at the U.S. operation on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, took place in Istanbul’s Fatih mosque. The Reuters presented this event as “Taliban photos from Istanbul”, the Turkish Posta informs.

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    In one of the photographs presented by the media people carry a poster with Bin Laden’s photograph.

    “Martyr, your way is also our way,” reads the poster.

    The 18 Taliban members, who died on November 16 during the U.S. military operations, were Turks.

    via Bin Laden honored in Turkey (PHOTOS) | Armenia News – NEWS.am.

  • Can Turkey Save Afghanistan?

    Can Turkey Save Afghanistan?

    A trilateral conference this month highlighted the possibilities – and limits – to Turkey’s new Central Asia diplomacy drive.

    The recent Istanbul Security and Cooperation in the Heart of Asia conference has prompted a great deal of discussion, hardly surprising with media outlets running headlines like: “As NATO withdraws, Afghanistan’s neighbors make security pact.”

    The only problem with this is that participants didn’t agree a pact with binding commitments, but rather a “vision” document with no means of ensuring that any of the principles and projects will actually come to pass.

    Still, the issue is of significant interest, especially with the Obama administration having increased the number of diplomatic initiatives aimed at creating a favorable environment for an Afghan-led peace process. In her first appearance before Congress since returning from a week-long trip to Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia last week, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that the Obama administration’s Afghan-Pakistan war strategy is pursuing three mutually reinforcing tracks: “fight, talk, and build.”

    But the United States is far from the only country boosting its diplomacy in the region. Turkey has also been complementing its longstanding military and economic contributions to Afghanistan with some regional maneuvering. Many of Turkey’s diplomatic initiatives have concentrated on improving relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan—or at least keeping their lines of communication open during their frequent bilateral disputes. Like the Obama administration (and other NATO governments), Turkish officials argue that any enduring solution to the conflict will require better relations between the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan. In particular, Pakistani support is needed for inducing the Afghan Taliban to end its insurgency, since the insurgents use Pakistani territory as a base of operations.

    Turkish officials say that their country has distinct advantages in this mediation role, including historically good relations with both countries, a shared Islamic faith, and a lack of local proxies or other incentives to interfere in their internal affairs.

    Certainly, Turkey has provided extensive assistance to Afghanistan’s security – it has twice led the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and currently heads ISAF’s command for the Kabul region. On November 1, Turkey extended its command of the ISAF’s Kabul region for another year. And, while the Turkish government has refused to deploy its troops on explicit counterinsurgency or counterterrorist operations in Afghanistan, its military forces within ISAF have helped train members of the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police in these tactics. The Turkish government and Turkish non-governmental organizations have, for their part, supported many humanitarian and economic reconstruction projects in Afghanistan, including education, health, housing, and infrastructure improvement projects.

    Turkey is helped in its regional efforts by its long-established good ties with Pakistan, dating from their alignment with the Western camp during the Cold War and their common moderate Muslim governments. Their military-to-military exchanges, which include a diverse range of bilateral and multilateral exercises, have continued to this day. In turn, Pakistan may have helped Turkey improve its relations with China and discouraged its Afghan Taliban allies from attacking Turkish troops in ISAF.

    Since April 2007, Turkey has hosted six Turkey-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral Forum meetings involving senior Turkish, Afghan, and Pakistani government officials. But it is determined to move beyond mere declarations. As part of the trilateral process, Turkey earlier this year organized a joint military exercise (on urban warfare) involving all three armies. A trilateral direct video-telephone conference line among the three presidents has also been established, and Turkish officials are now even considering initiating contact with the Afghan Taliban in support of peace mediation efforts.

    The latest tripartite summit occurred on November 1, when Turkish President Abdullah Gul hosted Karzai and Pakistani President Asif Zardari in Istanbul. This was a useful step forward after the Taliban’s September 20 assassination of former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani, which prompted an outraged Karzai to announce he was abandoning attempts to open talks with the Taliban and would instead deal with their Pakistani sponsors.

    Through their engagement with the parties, Turkish officials concluded that the two governments were looking for a mechanism to resume their direct dialogue rather than “talking to each other via the media” and other indirect means. “We sense that they have a genuine wish to talk to each other because they realize this trend isn’t helping either of them,” one Turkish official told the press before the trilateral presidential summit in Istanbul.

    But was there any substantive progress? The three governments signed agreements to cooperate in education, banking, and other areas, and also agreed to conduct more joint military exercises. Most notably, the three governments agreed to conduct a joint investigation into the Rabbani assassination to complement their individual efforts. Police, intelligence, military, and other representatives from the three governments will participate in this joint mechanism, and will be able to present and review evidence collectively.

    Still, comments Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Jawed Ludin’s made to the media after the event make it clear that while the meeting may have ended their public feuding for now, only genuine progress on concrete issues will generate enduring forward momentum in their relations: “So we are at a stage where we need to move beyond words, beyond expressions of commitments. We need to get to a stage where we actually do concrete things that will address our concerns with regard to our security.”

    The multinational summit that met in Istanbul the following day was aimed to do just that. Formally entitled the Security and Cooperation in the Heart of Asia conference, the meeting was held at the Ottoman-era Ciragan Palace in Istanbul. Representatives from Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and the United Arab Emirates attended the event as full participants and wrote the collective conference communique. These self-designated “Heart of Asia” countries were joined by senior officials from other supporting countries and international institutions, including the United States, many EU countries, and the United Nations.

    But the most important development, missed by much of the press, was that the Istanbul conference saw a major behind-the-scenes dispute between Turkey and Pakistan. The result was to limit the conference’s role to that of offering a vision of harmonious regional security architecture. And, although the conference communiqué is an improvement over the even vaguer 2002 Kabul Declaration on Good Neighborly Relations, it’s still primarily a statement of principles and projects without a means to finance them.

    The problems Turkey faces in trying to secure a breakthrough are similar to those encountered by the U.S. and other third-party facilitators, including the region’s porous borders, which facilitates the flow of fighters and drugs; poor governance; transnational organized criminal groups that have an interest in sustaining the conflict; week national governments and security forces have facing major Islamist insurgents; and limited and declining commitments by external powers to support regionally driven peace programs.

    In addition, the Afghan-Pakistan conflict has elements of a civil war in which the Taliban enjoys some support among the large Pashtun community that straddles the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. For this reason, regionally based peace efforts will invariably struggle unless accompanied by complementary developments in Afghanistan and Pakistan such as more effective governance, better counterinsurgency operations, and a greater desire on the part of the insurgents to lay down their arms and reenter their civilian societies.

    And regional rivalries have also impeded Turkey’s peace efforts. While Russia, China, and the West now generally support the same goals, Turkey has found it just as difficult as other countries to manage the India-Pakistan rivalry. The Indians complained when they weren’t invited to the trilateral summits between Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Turkey, as well as other Turkey-hosted gatherings on Afghanistan. Indians interpreted their exclusion as a sign that Turkey doesn’t respect India’s legitimate national security interest in Afghanistan.

    This past year, Turkish diplomats addressed these concerns by including India in more of Turkey’s diplomatic initiatives regarding Afghanistan, but the shift has irritated Pakistan. Indeed, some Pakistani analysts accuse Turkish officials of distancing themselves from Islamabad’s interests in Afghanistan in order to please Washington “at Pakistan’s expense.” Meanwhile, the main Turkish opposition party, the Republican People’s Party, has attacked the Turkish government for seeking to cooperate with the Taliban (which they denounce as a terrorist group) by considering establishing a Taliban representation bureau on Turkish territory.

    Still, the first Istanbul meeting appears to have at least stabilized relations between the Afghan and Pakistani governments. Their leaders have ceased denouncing one another in public. But the impact of the second larger meeting will only become evident during the next few months, when a number of major international conferences regarding Afghanistan will occur in Bonn, Chicago, and then in Kabul in June 2012.

    The problem is that although there have been dozens of major international conferences during the past decade, their impact on Afghanistan has remained less than that of the actions of certain individual key actors, especially the governments of Pakistan and the United States as well as the Taliban. Perhaps the impending NATO military withdrawal will galvanize greater efforts to avert a transnational civil war in Afghanistan as the neighboring states wage proxy conflicts—using local Afghan actors as well as their preferred international institutions—among themselves at Afghanistan’s expense.

    Another question is whether Turkey’s diplomatic ambitions extend beyond the Afghan issue? There’s growing talk that Turkey may try to formalize ties with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in order to expand its diplomatic toolkit regarding Afghanistan. In June, Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Cheng Guoping told a Beijing news conference that the Turkish government had indicated through diplomatic channels that it wanted to become a “dialogue partner” of the SCO. In itself, that status would give Ankara a very circumscribed role within the SCO, but it could provide a springboard from which Turkey could then transition to become a formal observer or a full member of the SCO.

    Earlier this year, Kazakh officials and the Russian press discussed Turkey’s acquiring some kind of formal affiliation with the SCO, but the Turkish diplomats I met last month in Ankara disclaimed any interest in obtaining some kind of official affiliation with the SCO. I remarked at several meetings in Turkey that some in Washington might see Turkey’s entry as a means to help keep the SCO from moving in an anti-Western direction by diluting Moscow’s and Beijing’s domination of the organization. But they seemed unenthusiastic about Turkey’s playing that role within the organization.

    Yet Turkey’s ambitions to influence developments regarding Afghanistan may be leading Ankara to change its position. The SCO has been seeking to expand its role in the Afghan conflict and, for example, plans to hold a large Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan next year. Washington should therefore use its newfound influence in Ankara to encourage such a development.

    Not only does Turkey share more Western values than the other SCO members, but Turkey could specifically help keep the SCO aligned with NATO, the EU and other international institutions establish a benign regional security, economic, and diplomatic framework in which the Afghans might just be able to resolve their own differences enough to avert the impending catastrophe.

    Photo Credit: NATO