Afghan Stingers Difficult to Use
By LOUIS MEIXLER
Associated Press Writer
KIRKLARELI, Turkey - Sgt. Daniel Oliver points to an F-16 warplane flying low in the sky as he sits on top of a jeep carrying eight Stinger anti-aircraft missiles.
"I could kill that guy," said Oliver, an American anti-aircraft soldier who fires Stingers. "If they came at us with helicopters, we'd annihilate them."
Taliban fighters are reported to have dozens, possibly hundreds of Stingers, the shoulder-fired weapon that brought down more than 270 Soviet aircraft and is credited with turning the tide against the Soviets following their invasion of Afghanistan.
But experts caution that those Stingers are likely to be far less effective against American warplanes.
The Stingers, which the United States supplied to Afghan guerrillas groups, are more then a decade old and are difficult to use at night, when the U.S. has carried out most of its raids. There are also new defenses against the missiles and Afghan Stingers are most likely poorly maintained.
"They're very sensitive," said Sgt. Larry Townsend, of San Diego, Calif. who like Oliver was in Turkey on Friday training with NATO soldiers. "You have to maintain them."
The United States funneled billions of dollars in weapons to Afghan guerrillas after the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and the heat-seeking Stinger was one of the most lethal weapons supplied.
The United States is reported to have sent Afghan guerrilla groups about 1,000 of the missiles, which have an effective range of about 3 miles.
Washington was so concerned about the missiles, especially that they could fall into the hands of terrorists, that the CIA tried to buy them back after the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989.
Many of the missiles were later captured by the Taliban or given to them by Islamic guerrillas who later sided with the Taliban.
The Afghans are believed to have fired some 300 of the missiles against Soviet aircraft. Estimates of how many are now in the hands of the Taliban vary wildly from between a few dozen to several hundred.
In the past few days, Taliban fighters have fired Stingers at U.S. aircraft in Afghanistan, but the aircraft have been flying too high to be hit.
There are concerns the missiles would be more effective against U.S. aircraft that come in low to strike targets or against helicopters used to ferry in commandos.
"It has about a 90 percent kill rate, but that depends on how effective the team is ... and how well the missiles were maintained," Townsend said. The missiles must be kept dry and soldiers who fire the missiles must be well trained enough to properly aim them.
The missiles detect heat sources and home in on aircraft engines, but must be fired close to the aircraft they are trying to destroy. U.S. fighter planes carry flares that they drop to confuse such missiles.
In Kirklareli, a town between Istanbul and the Greek border, a U.S. Stinger unit was training Friday with NATO soldiers, part of an exercise planned months ago.
"One thing the Afghans proved for us is Stingers can kill," said Lt. John Liang, an Air Defense Artillery officer based in McCully Barracks, Germany.
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