Piloting Afghanistan to a prosperous future -- BBC, Lyse Doucet

When I think about Afghanistan's difficult journey, I often remember its pilots. I call them the "hero pilots". --- They have crossed hostile skies across this land with their national carrier Ariana, sailed over jagged snow capped peaks of the Hindu Kush and navigated the risky entry into a capital ringed by majestic mountain ranges and ancient forts. --- When the Taleban were toppled in 2001, one of Ariana's senior pilots, whom I have known for years, took me to see the veritable Afghan museum strewn along the airfield's apron. --- There was a Russian-built aircraft punctured by a mujahideen stinger missile during the Soviet occupation of the 1980s, as well as smaller jets hit during mujahideen infighting when they took power in the 90s, and the blackened remains of a plane virtually obliterated by US bombing during the onslaught against the Taleban in 2001. --- Ariana lost six of its aircraft in that conflict. All told, theirs is the story of a country that has long been at war.