$772M on aircraft Afghans 'cannot operate or maintain'

The chief watchdog for Afghanistan reconstruction warned in a recent audit that the Pentagon is moving forward with a $772 million purchase of aircraft that the Afghan army "cannot operate or maintain." The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction had earlier issued a report in June detailing how "the Afghans lack the capacity -- in both personnel numbers and expertise -- to operate and maintain" existing and planned fleets. Worse yet, the bulk of the purchase is a $554 million contract for 30 Mi-17 helicopters from a Russian firm. They are not even buying American aircraft.