One of the reasons for Afghan Army's failure against the Taliban: American defense contractors secretly fled the country
The American defense contractors were the ones who made sure that the Afghan planes flew, and who supplied intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities to the Air Force
Dan Arkin
| 18/08/2021
Photo by Sgt. Bryan Peterson
American military experts reached the conclusion that the mass departure of American defense contractors who worked for the Army in Afghanistan signaled the beginning of the end of the U.S. military presence in the country.
American defense contractors played major roles in aid to Afghanistan, and they were relied on in many fields such as maintenance, instruction, intelligence collection and air support, all in order to deal with the Taliban. There were thousands of contractors in the country, mostly former soldiers working for private security companies that carried out the American military aid to the Afghan Army.
Many contractors started to leave the country a few weeks ago, almost in secret, and now they are employed in other countries in the region where there is a U.S. military presence. A former senior officer told a reporter for Foreign Policy magazine that the departure of the contractors caused the collapse of many elements in the Afghan Air Force, and that was critical. There are contractors who continue to advise the Afghans remotely, via Zoom, but there are not many of them, and it is doubtful that they will continue.
David Sedney, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for Afghanistan, said "We built the Afghan army in our image to be an army that operates with air support and intelligence (and) whose backbone is contractors." Former Army officers who are currently contractors said that the Afghan Army was capable of dealing with the Taliban by itself, but not in fields such as air support, and therefore the Army collapsed quickly without the contractors, who were the ones who made sure that the Afghan planes flew, and who supplied intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities to the Air Force.
There are Afghans who learned basic aircraft maintenance, but they do not know how to fix and maintain Black Hawk helicopters and C-130 cargo planes. Last month the Pentagon sent Afghanistan 40 Black Hawk helicopters and Super Tucano planes. Those items fell into the hands of the Taliban, and it is assumed that the Taliban will request Russia and China for help in maintaining the American aircraft.
The American defense contractors were the ones who made sure that the Afghan planes flew, and who supplied intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities to the Air Force
Photo by Sgt. Bryan Peterson
American military experts reached the conclusion that the mass departure of American defense contractors who worked for the Army in Afghanistan signaled the beginning of the end of the U.S. military presence in the country.
American defense contractors played major roles in aid to Afghanistan, and they were relied on in many fields such as maintenance, instruction, intelligence collection and air support, all in order to deal with the Taliban. There were thousands of contractors in the country, mostly former soldiers working for private security companies that carried out the American military aid to the Afghan Army.
Many contractors started to leave the country a few weeks ago, almost in secret, and now they are employed in other countries in the region where there is a U.S. military presence. A former senior officer told a reporter for Foreign Policy magazine that the departure of the contractors caused the collapse of many elements in the Afghan Air Force, and that was critical. There are contractors who continue to advise the Afghans remotely, via Zoom, but there are not many of them, and it is doubtful that they will continue.
David Sedney, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for Afghanistan, said "We built the Afghan army in our image to be an army that operates with air support and intelligence (and) whose backbone is contractors." Former Army officers who are currently contractors said that the Afghan Army was capable of dealing with the Taliban by itself, but not in fields such as air support, and therefore the Army collapsed quickly without the contractors, who were the ones who made sure that the Afghan planes flew, and who supplied intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities to the Air Force.
There are Afghans who learned basic aircraft maintenance, but they do not know how to fix and maintain Black Hawk helicopters and C-130 cargo planes. Last month the Pentagon sent Afghanistan 40 Black Hawk helicopters and Super Tucano planes. Those items fell into the hands of the Taliban, and it is assumed that the Taliban will request Russia and China for help in maintaining the American aircraft.
