Monk-of-Mogadishu wrote:Afghan warlords flew MiG jets and large transport helicopters in the 90s, few of those backward tribesmen have ever been in a conventional army. Among Shabaab's 10,000+ army which includes foreigners, I'd imagine at least a few have the aptitude to fly a little helicopter. It takes only a few weeks to fly a small plane, it should not take any longer to fly a small helicopter.
thr afghans had ex afghan airforce pilots and pakistanis supplied by the ISI.
infact the entire comand, control and communication, is paskitani army.
and the tactics used by the taliban in the 90's against the warlords and the northern alliance reads from the pakistani operational manual....
nations that fucked up mobile warfare even when they had all the advantages tend to overcompensate later on in the future..
The french while having much better tanks than the germans, did not undertand mobile warfare and they got curbstomped by the blitzkrieg.
The Pakistanis while having a much better trained armoured force than the indians, threw away thier advantages with silly strategy and tactics
and they drew with the Indians in 65 when they should have easily won..
today both the french and the pakistani millitary doctrine stress agressive mobile warfare.