Us Boosts Missiles To Afghanistan
Sydney Morning Herald
Monday February 9, 1987
WASHINGTON, Sunday: The Reagan Administration has decided to send a larger number of sophisticated Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to the Afghan rebels this year to increase pressure on the Soviet Union to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan, according to US officials.
The decision comes after numerous reports indicating that the rebels, known as Mujaheddin, are successfully using the weapon, first shipped there late last spring and put into extensive use in battle last October.
US officials said the decision reflects a widely held view within Congress and the Administration that the Soviet Union is still not serious about withdrawing an estimated 115,000 troops from Afghanistan.
The Afghan rebels reportedly had considerable difficulty learning to aim and fire the Stinger. But beginning late last summer, the CIA arranged for a group of ex-Army specialists to train the rebels in camps near the Afghan border.
The source said the US trainers found the Afghan fighters eager to learn but that there had been problems in storing the Stingers and some malfunctions caused by to the extreme temperatures common in the mountains of Afghanistan.
He said the rebels were averaging between seven and eight hits for every 10 Stingers fired, but doubted that they were downing one aircraft per day, as the State Department reported last December.
© 1987 Sydney Morning Herald