The Defense Department is seeking a number of helicopters and trainers for police and military forces in Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Robert Gates told lawmakers recently.
The need is for 20 helicopters–14 for lift and six for attack–that can withstand the harsh temperatures and altitudes in the central Asian country, he told members of the House Armed Services Committee at a hearing.
“Part of the problem with the helicopters is that regular helicopters really don’t work very well in Afghanistan,” Gates said, adding that they need a different kind of engine work to take on the changes in altitude. “There is actually something of a scarcity of helicopters in the alliance.”
Helicopters are one example of a struggle within NATO to gather the necessary equipment, training and resources for the war. Gates told the panel he will visit Scotland tomorrow to meet with other NATO defense ministers.
Among the list of unmet requirements is the need for 3,000 to 3,500 trainers for the Afghan army and police force, which have struggled with corruption and illiteracy.
That mission was supposed to be addressed by the European Union, but the Defense Department is trying to fill the gap, Gates said.
“The European effort on the police training has been, to be diplomatic about it, disappointing,” he said.
Gates said he was seeking help from Congress and elsewhere in the government to apply more pressure on European governments to gain more support. To that end, Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.) suggested lawmakers meet with members of European parliaments to discuss what kinds of equipment are being purchased and how to best achieve interoperability.
Many of the Democratic lawmakers sought to emphasize that the nation’s focus on Iraq has pulled resources away from war in Afghanistan.
They seized on a statement made by Adm. Michael Mullen, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, that in Afghanistan, the Defense Department does what it can, while in Iraq, it does what it must.
HASC Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) said he found that troubling.
“I have often said that Afghanistan seems like the forgotten war. I was assured by our witnesses today that the war in Afghanistan isn’t forgotten, but it’s clear that the stress on our military elsewhere has limited our ability to succeed in Afghanistan and has taken our attention away from this critical operation,” Skelton said.