AFGHANS USE U.S. MISSILES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000807270002-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 12, 2012
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: January 27, 1987
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

ST Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/01/12 : CIA-RDP90-00965R000807270002-9
Afghans Use
U.S. Missiles
Stingers Providing
Antiaircraft Defense
By Richard M. Weintraub
1V.n ungOm nsturt?ipi lh?rn.c
PESHAWAR, Pakistan-Afghan
guerrillas have begun using U.S.-
made Stinger missiles to shoot
down Soviet helicopters and jets,
according to guerrilla commanders
and western military observers.
The Stingers' deployment, which
apparently began in October, has
forced Soviet and Afghan govern-
ment forces to reduce air opera-
tions in parts of eastern Afghani-
stan, the sources said.
Diplomatic analysts in Islamabad
suggested that the increased pres-
sure on the Soviet military may be
one factor helping to push Moscow
toward considering a possible ne-
gotiated settlement of its war with
the guerrillas, called mujaheddin.
One guerrilla commander inter-
viewed here said the guerrillas
were shooting down aircraft in
about 70 percent of their attempts
with the missile. He said his own
unit, based near the capital, Kabul,
had shot down two helicopters and
three transport planes with the sev-
en missiles it had fired.
The commander said he believed
that 90 to 100 Soviet or Afghan
government aircraft had been
brought down by the missiles so far.
Afghans independent of the resis-
tance groups who monitor the war
have reported increased numbers of
aircraft shot down in Afghanistan
since October, but have only re-
cently had eyewitness reports of
the Stingers' effectiveness.
The State Department last
month said the guerrillas were
downing more aircraft, but refused
comment on what weapons were
responsible or whether Stingers
were being supplied to the rebels
via a widely reported U.S. arms
pipeline through Pakistan. Afghan
WASHINGTON POST
27 January 1987
government officials this month
showed western journalists a Sting-
er it said it had captured from a re-
sistance group in western Afghan-
istan.
According to westerners who
have traveled in Afghanistan, only
selected rebel groups are being
supplied limited numbers of mis-
siles, and only after disciplined mu-
jaheddin are trained how to use the
complex weapon.
For years, a lack of effective de-
fenses against Soviet aircraft has
been the mujaheddin's greatest com-
plaint. In most of Afghanistan, the
guerrillas have relied on heavy ma-
chine guns or even rocket-propelled
grenades, an antitank weapon, which
have been largely ineffective.
Interviews with mujaheddin here
this past week indicate that the
Stingers are proving effective where
they are in use-mostly around the
eastern cities of Kabul and
Jalalabad-but that the Soviets are
still able to exercise their air supe-
riority. One guerrilla said an attack
near Jalalabad on Jan. 16 met with an
immediate, heavy response by Soviet
aircraft.
Reports last spring said the Rea-
gan administration had decided to
supply the missiles to the guerrillas,
but they apparently were withdrawn
quickly. There were varying reports
that the initial shipments proved in-
effective because of improper train-
ing or mechanical faults-or that
Islamabad held up the supplies out of
fear that the Soviets might retaliate
directly against Pakistan for their
deployment.
The Stinger is a shoulder-fired
missile that can be operated by one
man. While it is heat-seeking, like
earlier missiles such as the SAM7,
it is believed to be less subject to
diversion tactics that foil the earlier
generation of missiles. It can also
hit a target from the side or the
front and is powerful enough to de-
stroy even aircraft that are
armored on their undersides.
Western military observers first
reported getting eyewitness ac-
counts of the Stingers being de-
ployed in late October. One western
visitor to the Jalalabad area said he
saw mujaheddin carrying crates
that they said contained the mis-
siles. He said the guerrillas refused
to display or discuss the missiles
because "they did not want the So-
viets to know they had them until
they started using them."
Because of U.S. and Pakistani
pressure, "everyone here is trying
to keep a lid on this," said one west-
ern military observer.
A reporter for the London Sunday
Telegraph persuaded a Russian de-
fector fighting with the mujaheddin
group near Jalalabad to display a mis-
sile, and published a photograph of-it
in November. As a result, the cotft;
mander of that group was quickly cut
off from further supplies, according
to the westerner who had visited the
area.
One guerrilla commander said
the young Stinger operator in hit
group had previously been effective
with the older SAM7 missiles. "HHe
treats it so carefully, always polish-
ing it and keeping it clean. If it ii'
wet or dusty, he will take off liis
own wrap and put it over the mi5
sile," the commander said.
"This has been one of the most
effective things the Americans have
done," he said. "They started talk
ing about the missiles a while aq"o
getting the Russians all on edge,'
but nothing happened. Now, they
suddenly are being used." ' I .
Out of respect for the missile, 40
said, Soviet jets and helicopters n9
longer linger over an attack area,
but make quick entries and exits.
Recent western visitors to Ningra-'
har Province said that, during a
three week stay in the area, one
seven Soviet aircraft had been seen,.
Other reports say that in some ar-
eas the heavily armed and armored
Mi24 helicopter-which has been
used with great effect by the Sovi-
ets- is now seen less often.
Although it is certain that the
mujaheddin are receiving extensive
training on the Stinger, details are'
unclear. A western visitor to At-
ghanistan reported one mujaheddiis"
unit as saying its Stinger operators
had attended an "American training
course" at a base near Islamabadi,,
but it was not clear whether this
was a U.S.-designed program or
one actually taught by Americans,
The United States and Pakistan.
routinely deny any role in suppl'ying'.
or training the Afghan guerrillas.
James Rupert of The Washington
Post Fore gn Service contributed to-
this report from Washington.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/01/12 : CIA-RDP90-00965R000807270002-9