Though the Pakistan border has reopened to NATO traffic, the need to rely on Pakistan for some 80% of the Afghan War’s supplies has been problematic, to say the least, and the alliance has been looking elsewhere for routes to the landlocked country.
But they won’t find one in Russia, which today announced that it had formally denied NATO permission to transport military supplies through its country. Russia has been allowing non-military goods through the land route, and will continue to do so.
Supplying goods to the 150,000 NATO troops and its associated allies in a landlocked, mountainous country with very little transportation infrastructure is no small problem, and it has only grown as the war has been escalated.
The route through Pakistan’s Khyber Pass is the only seriously practical one, but it is often targeted by militants and has also been closed on occasion when NATO troops have attacked Pakistan. Despite the unreliability of the Khyber route as tensions rise with Pakistan and the war worsen, it seems there will be no simple way of replacing it.
One interpretation of this, is that the occupying forces are gradually getting squeezed and may end up trapped in landlocked Afghanistan.
More and more troops are going in, needing more food to eat, supplies for the PX, and lots of guns and ammo. But the Russians will only let in non military supplies, the insurgents are regularly sabotaging the main supply lines, and closing them if occupying forces kill Pakistanis. And there are not many airports that can handle long haul transport planes.
So what happens if supplies run too low to wage war? Will insurgents, Pashtuns, & Pakistanis get more brave?
"and closing them if occupying forces kill Pakistanis. "
Only Pakistani soldiers. The government of Pakistan don't mind Washington killing regular Pakistani citizens.
Yea this week. Next week's story will be "After massive US pressure Russia accedes to NATO's request to transport military supplies through it's country." Face it, the same pressure that made the Japanese PM step down rather than tell the Americans no, the same pressure that made Austria turn over personal information of its citizens, including DNA, to the Americans, will force Russia to do whatever the Americans tell them to. What that pressure is I can't imagine. That would be a real story to report.
Russia should take revenge what the americans have done with and they are doing because the americans are fighting for Russia to destroy their own country.
Russia has a long memory. Ya know, like when we were sending Stingers to Afghanistan to shoot down Russian aircraft. We have run out of friends…unless you want to count Israel as a "friend".
$800 for a gallon of gas, that's what it costs the American taxpayers to provide gas in AFPAK.. This may not even cover the cost of paying protection money, which funds the Taliban to protect themselves from the invading Americans.
Oh dear….. and they cant even ask Iran….
Now is the time to start courting the Iranians. They have the least mountainous route into Afghanistan. Maybe we can bribe Ahmadinejad to let use their roads.
Send the stuff in through gallant little Georgia, so they can get their share before it disappears in Kazahkstan, Turkmenstan and AliBabbastan. ASt leasst themmn american taxpayers would be pretty sure it's going to a good cause.
Or maybe it's a sign that somebody ought to be puckering up for the Ayetolleh. Iran has a shorter, safer, more direct route into Afghanistan.
It's a cinch that the Russians won't lift a finger to help while America's tlking about bring all those former red satrapies under the aegis of the Empire, scratch that, NATO. I'm still not sure what they got in return for leaving the Persians hanging on the s300 system.