Related: Pakistan Battlefield Has Been Prepared
"US set to expand its Afghanistan supply routes; Militants often target strategic Khyber Pass" by Thom Shanker and Richard A. Oppel Jr., New York Times | December 31, 2008
WASHINGTON - The United States and NATO are planning to open and expand supply lines through Central Asia to deliver fuel, food, and other goods to a military mission in Afghanistan that is expected to grow by tens of thousands of troops in the months ahead, according to American and alliance diplomats and military officials.
Another reason for the surge: must secure those oil pipelines and energy resources!
The plan to open new paths through Central Asia reflects an American-led effort to seek out a more reliable alternative to the route from Pakistan through the strategic Khyber Pass, which was closed by Pakistani security forces yesterday as they launched an offensive against militants in the region.
Yeah, when you are planning a third World War the last thing you want are supply lines in enemy territory!
The militants have shown that they can threaten shipments through the pass into Afghanistan, burning cargo trucks and Humvees over recent weeks. More than 80 percent of the supplies for American and allied forces in Afghanistan now flow through Pakistan.
But the new arrangements could leave the United States more reliant on cooperation from authoritarian countries like Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, which have poor records on democracy and human rights.
Like the U.S. really gives a shit about all that blather!
The officials said delicate negotiations were underway not only with the Central Asian states bordering Afghanistan, but also with Russia, to work out the details of new supply routes. The talks show the continued importance of American and NATO cooperation with the Kremlin, despite lingering tension over the war between Russia and Georgia in August.
Which makes you wonder why the dim-wits of USrael find it necessary to tweak the Russians' nose, but I'll let that go....
American officials said they were trying to allay Central Asian concerns by promising that the supplies would be hauled only by commercial shipping companies and would not include weapons or munitions. Officials also say that no additional American bases will be required on their territory.
Sounds like they DON'T REALLY WANT US THERE! All they want is the $$$$ -- because that's all we got!
Some of Afghanistan's neighbors, in particular Kyrgyzstan, already serve as staging areas for American supplies, and officials involved in the talks said these countries appeared eager to increase their role, both to help bring stability to the region, and to benefit commercially from the arrangement....
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NATO officials say the attacks in Pakistan do not yet present a strategic threat to the American supply lines. But the closing of the supply line through Pakistan yesterday underscored the vulnerability of the route on which American and NATO forces depend.
You know, it would help your case, NATO and western mass-murderers, if you didn't lie every time you opened your mouths!
That route now runs more than 700 miles from the southern Pakistani port of Karachi to Peshawar, in northwestern Pakistan, and then through the Khyber Pass, the ancient gateway between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Khyber and the narrow highway that winds through it were once relatively safe, guarded by tribes paid by the Pakistani government that were subject to collective punishment for crimes against travelers, no matter who committed them. But this year militants have largely taken over the area as the Taliban have encroached on Peshawar, a frontier hub of 3 million people.
That's because the U.S. and Pakistani military have been MURDERING THEIR FAMILIES in the "War on Terror!!!!" Duh!
The militants now routinely attack convoys on the route, firing rocket-propelled grenades and Kalashnikov rifles. Many truck drivers have stopped making the trip because it so deadly. Yesterday, troops from the Pakistani Frontier Corps finally shut down the route.
Is this the reason, or did Pakistan just know what is coming and decide to cut the U.S. loose now?
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Because the Pakistanis are not stoo-pid, Amurkn, no matter what your Zionist media tells you:
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - .... Most observers say a fourth war between the countries is highly unlikely, because few can imagine a scenario in which India would benefit from it. Any attack on Pakistan would destabilize the country's new civilian government and strengthen its militant fringe, they say.
You mean, like what Israel has done in occupied Palestine?
"When people talk of the military option, I don't think they really mean it, because it has unpredictable consequences," said Lalit Mansingh, India's former ambassador to the United States....
That NEVER seems to stop Iz-ray-HELL!!!
