Neither of those individuals serves in a cabinet level position (not Senate confirmed, nor in the Presidential line of succession), nor was Susan Rice, as a domestic policy advisor, likely consulted on Afghanistan policy. Nice try.
-
Please take a moment and update your account profile. If you have an updated account profile with basic information on why you are on Air Warriors it will help other people respond to your posts. How do you update your profile you ask?
Go here:
Edit Account Details and Profile
Leaving Vietnam vs AFG
- Thread starter jmcquate
- Start date
Well, the MRAP didn’t even exist before Iraq/Afghanistan. One could call the MRAP not very cutting edge, but if IEDs remain part of the 21st century battlefield I think China/Russia will try to reverse engineer them (if they haven’t already).
BT
GOP Congressman Missing In Afghanistan While on 'Rogue Evacuation Mission': WaPo - Breaking911
United States Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) has reportedly gone missing while trying to enter Afghanistan amid the Taliban takeover and chaotic U.S. departure. According to The Washington Post, the Republican Congressman was on a ‘rogue evacuation mission,’ ignoring warnings from the State...
breaking911.com
^ I don’t fully trust the news source, but the headline is sure to grab attention. Something to keep an eye on/ independently corroborate…
OK, the 46s were being operated by contractors, so when you consider the options, JDAMs, explosives, etc...are not immediately available options. Removing the data plate makes it much less valuable to sell (the whole aircraft) on the legitimate market. They might have even had a value with regard to the insurance company. ie we don't pay off unless you provide the data plate. Removing the drive shaft takes it out of commission until a replacement can be obtained. As civilians, these guys were probably just happy to get out of there. They executed the plan they were given, then got the f#$@ out.
Fully?
I was picturing a Taliban looking at the data plate and then raising his fists to heavens and cursing, “Damn you, Sharpie!”
Brett, please tell me you're not suggesting that someone as influential as Susan Rice was to the Obama administration and Democratic power politics is not a player in major policy decisions just because she's not filling an official cabinet position?
I suspect the data plate grabs were for sentimental reasons and that somebody took that initiative on the spot. It's not like those old phrogs are marketable one way or the other, whether the hypothetical customer is an entity who likes us or hates us.
If you have a large, flat blade screwdriver then you can pop the thing off in about ten seconds, though you'll bend and mangle it a little. If you have a drill and a ⅛" drill bit then you can remove one, cleanly, in about thirty seconds.
Removing the driveshafts, that was a pretty expedient way to disable them and their flying days are probably done for good. If somebody badly wants to see them flying again, and it would have to be for propaganda reasons, they're going to have to go to a lot of effort to procure a replacement part. The moment hasn't passed but the timing is fading fast for much propaganda value from the "evil American Saigon/Kabul evacuation helicopter in Taliban hands and gracing the skies, Allah be praised."
Where are they going to get a #1 driveshaft? Will some other country covertly supply the part and expertise all just to poke us in the eye? New part off the black market, custom made part, 3D printed part, some other origin? Who's going to install it? Maybe the same country that supplied it. Maybe one of the Afghan Air Force mechanics we trained, or maybe most of those guys have gone underground and are hiding. Anything is possible if we play "what if?" We left behind plenty of flyable aircraft but I'm not holding my breath on those phrogs.
If you have a large, flat blade screwdriver then you can pop the thing off in about ten seconds, though you'll bend and mangle it a little. If you have a drill and a ⅛" drill bit then you can remove one, cleanly, in about thirty seconds.
Removing the driveshafts, that was a pretty expedient way to disable them and their flying days are probably done for good. If somebody badly wants to see them flying again, and it would have to be for propaganda reasons, they're going to have to go to a lot of effort to procure a replacement part. The moment hasn't passed but the timing is fading fast for much propaganda value from the "evil American Saigon/Kabul evacuation helicopter in Taliban hands and gracing the skies, Allah be praised."
Where are they going to get a #1 driveshaft? Will some other country covertly supply the part and expertise all just to poke us in the eye? New part off the black market, custom made part, 3D printed part, some other origin? Who's going to install it? Maybe the same country that supplied it. Maybe one of the Afghan Air Force mechanics we trained, or maybe most of those guys have gone underground and are hiding. Anything is possible if we play "what if?" We left behind plenty of flyable aircraft but I'm not holding my breath on those phrogs.
Does the Domestic Policy Advisor sit in on Principal’s meetings where plans and policy decisions are made. Probably not. Whether she was consulted on the execution of the withdrawal, we can only speculate. The main thrust of my post was to encourage @Wareal to get his own facts straight before throwing flaccid spears toward an executive branch process that he apparently doesn’t understand.
That, my dear Rob, is what I’m suggesting. ?
Building vehicles with V-Hull and CIED technology isn’t what I would call something “ground breaking” for Russian and Chinese defense manufacturers. They likely already had access to this stuff in Syria/Iraq.
You guys are forgetting that two full Marine battalions were on deck. Those aircraft are likely going to missing more than just a drive shaft.
That's what I was alluding to by initiative on the spot, and I'm glad there were guys who were there who think that way.
I keep thinking of Cuba and their fleet of pre-Communism cars. We might see some phrogs flying into the 2050s.
That's part of what I mean when I say if they want the parts badly enough then they'll find a way, but it's a question of willpower and resources.
Let's say a year from now- you and I see it as one of the dear old phrogs but to most people those will be just another (former) American helicopter, so not a lot of propaganda value. If it's logistics they want and unless it's a third party ponying up the support free or cheap, their resources are probably better spent on maintaining Russian-origin aircraft. Those hulks will end up wasting away or maybe one of them will become a gate guard at the museum of the great Islamic Taliban holy victory revolution of 2021 or whatever (which I doubt).
The Iranian F-14s aren't an apples to apples comparison. Iran may be a lot of things but technologically backward is not one of them. And maybe they step up and put those phrogs back in the air, which they're certainly capable of doing and they do enjoy poking us in the eye, but again, the propaganda value from that would come down to "so what?"
They probably harvested parts in hopes they can find a way to bolt them on -53s.
From a buddy on the watch floor:
"After the VBIED, the Marines went mad max on HKIA. That place is fucking destroyed."
I trust the Tulsa World to have contacts in an OK congressman’s office staff. It seems like a reputable paper for local news, and congressional offices are usually quick to refute fake news (i.e. if the congressman was really CONUS when a newspaper is reporting he is in Central Asia). The other link, not so much.