MOROCCO CONCERNED OVER ALGERIAN
ARMS BID
CAIRO [MENL] -- Morocco has quietly expressed concern
over Algeria's effort to modernize its military. Arab
diplomatic sources said the kingdom has sent messages to
Arab countries, the European Union and the United States
that question Algeria's program to procure a range of new
platforms. Algeria has obtained Su-24 bombers from Russia
and seeks the MiG-29 fighter-jet. The sources said the
Algerian negotiations with Moscow could harm plans for a
summit between Algiers and Rabat. Algeria has tried to
persuade Morocco's King Mohammed to attend the Arab Maghreb
Union summit on June 21 in Algiers. The union also includes
Libya and Tunisia and has not met in years. Relations
between the two neighbors have been tense for years. Algeria
has supported the Polisario's drive for independence in
Western Sahara, an area claimed by Morocco.
US Warns Israel against arms sale
to China
Jerusalem, June 22 (PTI) Concerned over a possible
escalation between China and Taiwan, the United States has
warned Israel against future arms sales to Beijing,
particularly weapons that could inhibit US military action
in the region. With China and Israel reportedly resuming the
defence cooperation after settling the Phalcon dispute,
Washington has contended that arms sales to Beijing could
come up against American opposition, especially if the
weapons sold are capable of inhibiting US military actions
in the region, English daily `Ha'aretz' reported. Earlier in
March this year, Israel agreed to pay China 350 million
dollars in compensation for scrapping the signed deal of
Phalcon spy plane sale to Beijing under tremendous US
pressure, putting an end to a long-running dispute. Israel
Aircraft Industry (IAI), which specialises in high-tech
weaponry and space technology, was building the airborne
early warning system for installation on Chinese Air Force's
Ilyushin plane before stiff pressure from Washington forced
the cancellation in July 2000. Washington had contended that
the spy plane would give China a strategic advantage over
America's AWACS aircraft by giving the Chinese advanced
over-the-horizon radar-detection capabilities during any
possible conflict with Taiwan. `Ha'aretz' quoted sources
here as saying that though the financial compensation for
the Phalcon imbroglio has primarily settled the dispute with
Beijing, the Jewish state has to find some way "to appease"
Chinese President Jiang Zemin who has personally felt
insulted since he was made to believe during his visit here
in April 2000 that the Phalcon deal was through.
Few duties for Afghan air force
By TODD PITMAN, Associated Press Wednesday May 01, 2002,
05:19:56 AM BAGRAM, Afghanistan (AP) - Through the window of
his crumbling second-story office, Afghan air force Gen.
Sher Alam can see it all: Hordes of helicopters and cargo
planes thunder past the mountains, fighter jets painted with
menacing white fangs hurtle through the skies. Alam is
commander of what is now the busiest air base in Afghanistan
- problem is, none of the aircraft flying around here are
his. "We don't have any planes," Alam said, his piercing
blue eyes fixed briefly on an American Chinook helicopter
hovering above the runway at Bagram, just north of the
capital, Kabul. "But we are always ready to fight."
Twenty-three years of fighting has taken its toll on the
Afghan air force, which was hard-hit by an inter-Afghan war
in the 1990s, and nearly finished off during last year's
U.S. bombing campaign against the Taliban. In 1993, the air
force boasted 230 aircraft, according to Jane's Information
Group. By mid-2001, it was down to a few dozen - including
18 Russian-made MiG-21 and Su-22 fighter jets, up to 15
Antonov cargo planes and a handful of Mi-8 and Mi-17
helicopters. No one knows how many survived American air
strikes in October and November. Authorities in Kabul said
the remaining aircraft are too scattered - some were
spirited out to neighboring countries last year - to make an
accurate count. On Saturday, one of the country's last two
MiG-21s crashed southeast of Kabul in an apparent accident,
killing the pilot. In the 1980s, the 10,000-foot runway at
Bagram served as the principal base of operations for the
former Soviet Union during its losing 10-year war against
Islamic rebels. Today, the base is occupied by thousands of
American and British soldiers who conduct round-the-clock
aerial missions in search of suspected al-Qaida and Taliban
remnants. The Afghan air force contingent at Bagram numbers
about 2,500 men, but aside from security personnel, only a
half dozen seem to be around at any one time. "Almost all
the officers and pilots are in Kabul," said air force Maj.
Khalil Rahman, who was chatting with two colleagues in front
of a tiny, dilapidated barber shop on the base. "They come
every week, but there is nothing to do. So they sign the
roll-call, see their boss and leave." Last week they came to
collect their salaries for the first time in nine months -
after the interim government hauled in trucks full of Afghan
money and started handing out sacks of it. "We used to have
everything here," Rahman said. "Nice buildings, hot showers,
good furniture, movies, a big cafeteria." But like much in
Afghanistan, it's all been destroyed. The faded yellow walls
of Alam's two-story headquarters have been smashed by rocket
fire. Most of the windows are gone, replaced with sheets of
plastic. Almost all the buildings nearby are roofless ruins,
surrounded by minefields. Walking around the vast base, it's
hard to believe there's an Afghan air force contingent at
all. Thousands of American soldiers have taken over much of
Bagram, setting up oceans of green tents and constructing
wooden offices inside the main hangar. Hundreds of British
Royal Marines have also arrived. Coalition aircraft,
including attack helicopters and scores of massive
double-rotor Chinooks, are constantly in the sky. The
Soviets similarly overshadowed the Afghans when they
occupied Bagram in large numbers in the 1980s. When they
left, the Afghans turned their guns on each other in a
1992-1996 civil war, and rival factions seized air force
planes for themselves. The Taliban emerged as victors in
1996, but skirmishes continued with the northern alliance,
which retained control over a small part of the country.
Bagram was on the front line, and it looks like it. Shells
of helicopters still lie near the runway. Huge cargo planes
have been blown apart by rockets. Rusting fighter jets -
some destroyed, some abandoned - are all over the base. The
rest is a junkyard of destroyed engine and aircraft parts.
Most Afghan pilots at Bagram - including Alam - have been
unable to fly since 1996 because Taliban units, positioned a
few hundred yards away from the airfield, regularly bombed
it with artillery and mortar rounds. The base changed hands
several times, and Alam was periodically forced to flee into
the mountains with northern alliance troops. But times have
changed. On Alam's desk, under glass, are two identical
photos of a Su-22 fighter jet, the same kind he's flown at
Bagram since 1981. A note from an American officer is penned
between the planes, thanking him for his cooperation. "The
U.S. came here to help us fight the Taliban. Maybe our new
friends will give us new planes," Alam said.
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