AC-130 Gunship possibly to be used??

Has anyone thought of the possibility that the AC-130U (I think that is the deignation, not sure though) could be used in Afghanistan, assuming the US attacks? I personally think this would be a very beneficial asset to use. Am I correct in assuming that Afghanistan lacks and sort of integrated air defense system, other thatn MANPADS? Because if this is true, couldn’t the gunship simply stay above the MANPADS’ effective range? Thank.

Brian