Out of the various strategies employed by the Modern Orientalists is to exaggerate the problem, scare the people, list unrelated points, and join the dots in a manner that it serves their purpose of creates a rationale for their thesis or action items.
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British defeat at Battle of Maiwand
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Conventional wisdom has it that alternate route of supplies to Afghanistan are not feasible. However the situation is so critical that the US has been forced to look to the long and ardous route to provide essential water, food, arms and supplies to Kabul and beyond. US supplies to Afghanistan in jeopardy
The U.S. doesn’t really have the option of abandoning Pakistan. We rely on Pakistani air, land and sea space to supply critical fuel, vehicles and aircraft to support our 26,000 (soon to be 29,500) troops fighting in Afghanistan. The U.S. would find it extremely difficult to develop alternative supply lines for the war effort in Afghanistan. Lisa Curtis
The supply routes through Pakistan are a matter of much discussion in Pakistan. Allowing the US access through the Khyber is very unpopular and increasingly dangerous. The Khyber Pass is very hard to go through. It is a long winding vally with no exits. A few strategically placed enemy gunmen can choke the pass. Pakistan to US: No pay-No play: Tough lessons on geography!
Central Asia map: Kyrgyzstan moving closer to Pakistan
More than 70% of the US supplies go through Pakistan. US bluff: Other arduous US Supply Chain routes to Afghanistan not feasible
Some in America do believe that alternative supply routes can be found. The recent agreement reached by Germany with Russia to use its railway and road system to transport military as well as non-lethal equipment for its forces in Afghanistan is the first step towards a similar agreement being reached with other NATO countries, including the United States. Such alternative routes will not, however, address the problem faced in South and East Afghanistan, for which Pakistan is the only possible route until US-Iran relations improve to the point that Iran agrees to facilitate such transit.
Some also believe that direct military action against sanctuaries and Taliban supply points in Pakistan is a viable option a la the bombing of the Ho Chi Minh trail in Cambodia and Laos to stem the flow of supplies and recruits from North to South Vietnam. Many, however, recognise that such actions would add to the growth of extremism in Pakistan, fuel anti-American sentiment and create an untenable situation. Daily Times. Obama’s Afghanistan strategy -Najmuddin A Shaikh
UK Reality check on the war in Afghanistan. We first brought up this issue several years ago. According to the military and defense experts we talked to, the transportation of arms and food through Georgia is not feasible and is part of the US Army’s psy ops strategy. This sort of press release is an attmept to put pressure on Pakistan. The facts on the ground dictate that the US supply routes have to go through Pakistan. US attacks on Pakistan since 2004 fueled Afghan insurgency
An agreement with Georgia has been reached and talks are ongoing with Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, according to an Oct 31 Pentagon document. “We do not expect transit agreements with Iran or Uzbekistan,” the Transportation Command told potential contractors. US seeks alternative supply routes to Afghanistan By Our Correspondent
Where United States has decided to wage a war in the FATA area, the Pakistani security forces have also devised their strategy. All the supplies to the NATO and US forces go through the Pakistan all the way from Karachi port through G.T Road up to the Peshawar (which makes a distance of thousands of kilometers) and then enters the Afghanistan. US cannot afford suspension of these supplies, and that would be one of the powerful leverage in the hands of the Pakistani forces to leash the US forces.
Moreover, Pakistan could resume the support to Taliban in Afghanistan and could engage US and NATO forces pretty severely in the central and Northern Afghanistan. The attack of US on the tribal belt would certainly unite the different factions of Talibans, and then Pakistan could facilitate the militant coalition of Mangal Bagh, Maulana Fazlullah, Haji Namdar, Qazi Mehboob and Baitullah Mehsud against the US onslaught. This would give Pakistani government dual benefit of getting rid of the militants from their areas, while giving US a tough time in their yet another misadventure.
When US attack, Pakistan must not go against the Taliban, because then instead of striking at US, Talibans would start suiciding in the Pakistani cities, and then it would be an impossible situation for Pakistani forces to handle, and they would be hapless in front of the US led NATO forces.
And what should be done to the continuous violation by US aircrafts of Pakistani aerial space? Despite a strong protest lodged by Pakistan with the US-led Nato forces in Afghanistan over attack on the border town of Angoor Adda, a US fighter aircraft and pilotless spy planes again intruded into Pakistan’s airspace in Bajaur, and North and South Waziristan tribal agencies. And this practice has become a daily routine.
Demolishing couple of planes would do a loads of good to calm the itchy and aggressive nerves of the US, and that would teach them that Pakistan is not their Banana republic, and while Yousuf Raza Gillani, our puppet Prime Minister puked in front of Michael Mullen of US, the images of drones’ wreck would speak themselves.
The Grand Bargain? Pakistan key to Afghan Great Game. A straight line is defined as the shortest distance between two points. For America the shortest distance to Kabul is from Karachi via Torkhum.
The supply issue is now so serious that the U.S. is developing an enormously complex, expensive 5,500-km alternative route that begins in Ukraine, transits southern Russia and Kazakhstan, heads south through Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, then into northern Afghanistan. Russia has apparently agreed to the transit of non-weapons NATO cargoes and some over-flights.
To activate this second supply route, the U.S. must make large payments and political concessions to the ugly Stalinist dictatorships of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan who have foul human rights records. A sharp irony, since the U.S. claims to be waging war in Afghanistan to promote democracy. Uzbekistan has made a special name for itself by boiling alive political prisoners.
Will the bankrupt U.S. be able to afford such lavish expenditures on a minor war whose real objectives are gaining access to the oil and gas wealth of Central Asia and preventing the NATO alliance from being defeated in its only war? That remains to be seen. The Edmonton Sun. U.S. hopes to supply victory. Attacks on convoys become major problem By ERIC MARGOLIS
However the geopolitical situation has forced America to find alternative routes to Kabul. Pakistan to US: No pay-No play: Tough lessons on geography! Only time will tell if the alternate routes can survive General Winter. Rupee News has recently published several articles on this subject. War Crimes: Illegal attacks on Pakistan- counter-productive.
Greg Wilcox, a retired Army officer who has written extensively on military tactics and operations, says that should the fuel from Pakistan be cut off, the U.S. would have to try flying fuel into its bases in Afghanistan – which he believes would be “mission impossible.” Wilcox told us that when it comes to Pakistan, “We don’t have any choice. We got kicked out of Uzbekistan so we don’t have any bases there. We can’t survive in that region….We can’t logistically support operations in Afghanistan without cooperation. No Berlin Air Lift is feasible. Kuwait, Dubai, and Qatar are too far away and Kandahar and Bagram can only handle so much traffic. We must get cooperation, or quit. Posted on Feb. 12, 2008,By Robert Bryce,The Pakistan Fuel Connection
Karachi is the Sea Port of Debarkation for Operation Enduring Freedom.
The U.S. needs moderate, progressive Pakistanis to prevail over extremists seeking to cause chaos, overthrow the regime and establish a theocratic government in its place. Cutting ties to Pakistan because of a lack of democracy could backfire by emboldening extremists to fight harder and forcing secular-minded civilian politicians into retreat.
In fact, it’s in U.S. national security interests to cultivate strong ties to Pakistan over the long term so that Washington can edge the country toward a path of moderation, development and democracy. Most U.S. policymakers now acknowledge that it was a mistake to cut off aid to Pakistan in the early 1990s; we sacrificed important leverage with the Pakistani military and the good will of the Pakistani people. We must not repeat that mistake, despite some of the difficulties in the relationship.
That said, we need to increase the pressure to promote a return to civilian-led democracy in Pakistan, especially in the run-up to next month’s election. A flawed election viewed as rigged by Pervez Musharraf would lead to further instability. The U.S. needs to be clear on the specific criteria by which it will judge the fairness of the election and signal its readiness to deal with a more broad-based, civilian-led government.
There has been some discussion about forming a unity government, but such a step should be pursued only with full agreement of the mainstream political parties and with the understanding that it would help restore democratic rule. Ultimately, the Pakistanis themselves have to resolve their domestic political problems, but the U.S. has a moral and strategic obligation to stand up for the principles of democracy and freedom, especially when the Pakistani people so clearly and persistently yearn to move in this direction. A strategic and moral imperative By Lisa Curtis: January 17, 2008. Lisa Curtis is a senior research fellow in the Asian Studies Center at the Heritage Foundation(heritage.org)
Smoke rises from vehicles set on fire by angry protesters after the killing of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, Friday, Dec. 28, 2007
When it comes to America’s relationship with Pakistan, remember one thing: it’s all about the fuel. Many presidential candidates are insisting that the U.S. get tough with Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf. But the reality is that we have almost no leverage. Why? The answer can be seen by looking at the American military’s fuel logistics nightmare in Afghanistan. Without the cooperation of Musharraf’s government, the 24,000 U.S. troops stationed in Afghanistan would likely run out of fuel within a matter of days.
The U.S. military is now burning about 575,000 gallons of fuel per day in Afghanistan. And about 80 percent of that comes from refineries in Pakistan. Without the support of Musharraf and the Pakistani military, U.S. forces in Afghanistan would have only one fuel supply, coming via a precarious logistics line that extends more than 1,000 miles all the way from refineries in Baku (Azerbaijan) and Turkmenbashi (Turkmenistan) to northern Afghanistan.
The fuel from the refinery in Baku is loaded onto rail cars and put on rail barges that then traverse the Caspian Sea. Once in Turkmenistan, the rail cars follow a circuitous route through Uzbekistan before they arrive at the Afghan border, where the fuel is then transferred to trucks.
The long supply lines to the Caspian Sea underscore the importance of the Pakistani fuel. By mid-2006, total fuel storage capacity for forces operating out of the Kabul and Bagram air bases was less than 3 million gallons. Although a contractor for the U.S. military is now building an additional 3 million gallons of storage capacity at Bagram Air Base, if the flow of fuel from Pakistan is completely cut off, American forces could be running on fumes within a fortnight.
Greg Wilcox, a retired Army officer who has written extensively on military tactics and operations, says that should the fuel from Pakistan be cut off, the U.S. would have to try flying fuel into its bases in Afghanistan – which he believes would be “mission impossible.” Wilcox told us that when it comes to Pakistan, “We don’t have any choice. We got kicked out of Uzbekistan so we don’t have any bases there. We can’t survive in that region without Musharraf. We are tied to him whether we like it or not.”
We can’t logistically support operations in Afghanistan without cooperation. No Berlin Air Lift is feasible. Kuwait, Dubai, and Qatar are too far away and Kandahar and Bagram can only handle so much traffic. We must get cooperation, or quit.
So says their Defence Minister. But the trucks are rolling again, so how serious were they? Just serious enough to elect Mr. Ten Percent.
Blasts damage two oil tankers in Chaman CHAMAN: Two blasts here damaged as many oil tankers supplying fuel to Nato forces in Afghanistan, police said on Friday.
The first blast damaged the frame of a tanker carrying 36,000 litres of JP oil. The tanker was parked near a checkpost for security clearance. More than 8,000 litres of oil was burnt. Another oil tanker was partially damaged in a blast near the Zhara Band area. Police said they were investigating the nature of the blasts.
Pakistan closed the Torkham border crossing in the Khyber tribal agency. The road through the Khyber Pass is NATO’s primary supply line into Afghanistan.
The government claimed poor security on the strategic road into Afghanistan forced the closure. The road has been shut down exclusively for NATO traffic.
“All Afghanistan-bound supplies for the International Security Assistance Force have been stopped as the [Torkham] highway is vulnerable,” the Khyber Agency’s political agent told Daily Times.
According to Dawn, the closure only applies to fuel trucks heading to Afghanistan. But trucks carrting supplies other than fuel have been held up at the border. “Over 20 heavily-loaded vehicles, including oil tankers, were stranded at the border town of Torkham following the government’s decision,” the Pakistani newspaper reported.
An estimated 70 percent of NATO supplies move through Khyber to resupply troops fighting against the Taliban in Afghanistan. The bulk of NATO’s supplies arrive in the port city of Karachi, move north to Peshawar, and head west to the Torkham crossing into Afghanistan and the final destination in Kabul. The rest of the supplies pass through the Chaman border crossing point in Baluchistan or arrive via air.
The Taliban has increased attacks against trucks shipping NATO supplies. The group has issued death threats to Pakistani truckers hauling NATO goods into Afghanistan.
A response to US attacks in Pakistan
The closure of the Torkham crossing point to NATO traffic occurs just as the US has ramped up its cross-border strikes inside Pakistan’s Taliban-controlled tribal agencies.
The Pakistani government denied the move to close the road in Khyber to NATO traffic was related to the recent US airstrikes and a ground assault in the Waziristan tribal agencies further south.
“This decision has nothing to do with the situation in Waziristan or the US attacks,’ the political agent said.”This is purely a security issue and we want no untoward incident to take place as far as supplies for ISAF are concerned.” No timeframe was given for the reopening of the road for NATO supply columns.
The move to close the border occurred the same day the Pakistani military said it could respond to US attacks inside Pakistani territory.
“Pakistan reserves the right to appropriately retaliate in future,” General Tariq Majid, the Chairman of Pakistan’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, told Germany defense minister.
The US has conducted an unprecedented air campaign over the past week in North and South Waziristan. The US has conducted five cross-border attacks inside Pakistan since Aug 31. Three of the strikes occurred in North Waziristan, and two in South Waziristan.
The US has stepped up its attacks against al Qaeda and the Taliban’s networks inside Pakistan over the past year. There have been 13 confirmed cross-border attacks by the US in Pakistan this year [see list below]. Five safe houses have been hit in North Waziristan, six have been hit in South Waziristan, and two have been targeted in Bajaur this year. Only 10 such cross-border strikes were recorded in 2006 and 2007 combined.
The most controversial strike involved special operations teams inserted by helicopters in a village in South Waziristan just one mile from the Afghan border on Sept. 3. This is the second recorded incident of the direct involvement of US ground troops in a raid inside Pakistan since 2006.
Background on this year’s attacks
Three senior al Qaeda operatives have been confirmed killed during this year’s cross-border strikes in Pakistan.
Abu Khabab al Masri, al Qaeda’s bomb expert and weapons of mass destruction chief, was killed South Waziristan on July 28. Abu Sulayman Jazairi, al Qaeda’s external operations chief, was killed in Bajaur on May 14. Abu Laith al Libi, a senior commander in Afghanistan and the leader of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, was killed in North Waziristan on Jan. 28.
While the strikes have disrupted al Qaeda’s senior leadership, they have done little to disrupt the growth of al Qaeda and the Taliban in northwestern Pakistan.
The Taliban, al Qaeda, and allied terrorist groups have established 157 training camps and more than 400 support locations in the tribal areas and the Northwest Frontier Province, US intelligence officials have told The Long War Journal.
The Taliban has organized some of its fighters into military formations. Al Qaeda has reformed the notorious 055 Brigade, the Arab legion of al Qaeda fighters that was destroyed during the initial US assault in Afghanistan in late 2001. Additional al Qaeda brigades have been formed, intelligence officials informed The Long War Journal.
Foreign al Qaeda fighters have flocked to the Pakistani border regions. On July 23, Pakistani Prime Minister Gilani and his cabinet were told that more than 8,000 foreign fighters were operating in the tribal areas.
Obama advisor Weinbaum predicts total Afghan policy review: Sees focus on talks & Reconciliation
Lesson Number One: Africa is not a country. South Africa is a country. Noruth America includes Canada, US and Mexico. These were the lessons that the Republicans failed to grasp and lost an election.
Lesson Number Two: Afghanistan is a landlocked country. Karachi is the Pakistan port throught which 80% of the arms and food itemsto Afghanistan flow. All supply lines to Afghanistan run through Pakistan.
Lesson Number Three: Blaming Pakistan won’t help the war on terror.. If you continue to kill Pakistanis, the nation cannot support the US war in Afghanistan. Pakistan Assembly: War not in its interest-Want it stopped!
Lesson Number Four: No pay. No Play.
Peek into Obama’s brains: Bruce Reidel on Pakistan. While the new administration may be looking at revising the Afghan policy, the current one is still moving ahead with the failed policy. Book Review: The Limits of [US] Power by Andrew Bacevich
- Afghanistan: Gen. Petraeus’ Pakistani advisors: Indians jittery
- Barack Obama is not a stranger to Pakistan
- Obama should fire VHP Hindu extremist Sonal Shah
- Obama advisor Weinbaum predicts total Afghan policy review: Sees focus on talks & Reconciliation
US bluff: Other arduous US Supply Chain routes to Afghanistan not feasible
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| RUPEE NEWS | November 21st, 2008 | Moin Ansari | معین آنصآرّی | اخبار روپیہ |
Filed under: Current Affairs, Pak CA, US CA, US Int Rel. | Tagged: American war in Afghanistan, Supply Chain
Force is all-conquering, but its victories are short-lived. ~Abraham Lincoln In 1821
2009: On August 15, India’s independence day, Lal Chowk, the nerve centre of Srinagar, was taken over by thousands of people who hoisted the Pakistani flag and wished each other “happy belated independence day”:-- Arundhati Roy
(Pakistan celebrates independence on August 14)
Modi & Hindu fundamentalist Modi in “India” funded by US Gujaratis
Governor Bobby Jindal is financed by Indian American Hotel Association and he supports the IAHA which funds Modi
Indian Hotel Association hosts Modi after US denied him a visa 
“We should have nothing to do with conquest.“ In Thomas Jefferson 1791
The PPPP emptied the treasury in 6 months!
Mr. Modi the Chief Minister was implicated in these riots--supported by Indian Hotel Owners Association in America--the same group that supports Gov. Bobby Jindal
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Laden's secure mountain hideout?
