The Afghan Air Force, which has been essentially been built and funded from scratch by the US military, is now being investigated for drug-running.

The U.S. is investigating allegations that some officials in the Afghan Air Force, which was established largely with American funds, have been using aircraft to ferry narcotics and illegal weapons around the country…

In an interesting connection, the military is also reportedly investigating a link between the drug-running scheme and the April 2011 massacre of 8 US airmen by a member of the Afghan military.

In a report released by the U.S. Air Force in January about the killings, several American officials are quoted as mentioning that the shooter, Col. Ahmed Gul, was likely involved in the transportation of illicit cargo and wanted to shut down a probe into it.

The majority of the victims were involved in an early inquiry into the misuse of aircraft. Gul, the Afghan officer who killed them, coordinated AAF’s cargo movement, the newspaper noted.

Another report, which says Afghans have been hindering the investigation, indicates members of the Afghan Air Force were profiting off illicit flights — and attempts by members of the US Air Force to enforce oversight would have cut into that source of funds:

“It was a business to them,” the American was quoted as saying in the report.

It seems certain areas of the American effort in Afghanistan haven’t been entirely successful.  It is tragic American troops have had to die to prove that.