News
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Pakistan asks US to provide advanced attack helicopters
* Senator John McCain voices support for Pakistani request
WASHINGTON: Pakistan has asked the United States to provide it with much-needed attack helicopters to help bolster ongoing operations against militants in the tribal areas.
Senator John McCain, a top ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and a former US commander in Afghanistan, view Pakistan’s request favourably, according to a report that appeared in The Washington Times on Wednesday.
“I have been ambassador here for two years, and all I have to show for it is eight second-hand Mi-17 transport helicopters for a war that requires helicopters to root out al Qaeda and the Taliban,” Pakistan’s Ambassador to Washington Hussain Haqqani said. “Military operations would have been quicker and much easier to plan and execute if we had the equipment,” Ambassador Haqqani said.
The $2.5 billion in arms that Pakistan has requested includes new helicopter gunships, including AH-1W and the Apache-64-D; armed helicopters, such as the AH-6 and MD-530 Little Bird; and utility and cargo helicopters, such as the UH-60 Black Hawk, the CH-47D Chinook and the UH-1Y Huey.
Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said the US government was aware of its ally’s military equipment list.
“The Pakistan Military’s interest in additional lift is well-known, and we have tried to help meet their needs by providing several Mi-17s. We will continue to try to help them acquire the helicopters and other equipment they require to defeat the insurgents and terrorists in their midst,” Morrell said. The Pakistani Military list also includes a request for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), among the newest and deadliest high-tech arms.
Senator John McCain voiced his support for Pakistan’s request. In an interview he said, “we ought to at least consider this request.” But he also added that the US should provide “better training and maintenance for Pakistan’s military.” “There is a good argument to provide the equipment they need,” he said. app
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk