(The picture is from Iraq)
"In one of the largest and most brazen attacks of its kind, suspected Taliban insurgents with heavy weapons attacked two truck stops in northwest Pakistan on Sunday, destroying more than 150 vehicles carrying supplies bound for U.S.-led troops in Afghanistan.
The predawn attack on the outskirts of the city of Peshawar left the grounds of the truck terminals littered with the burned-out shells of Humvees and other military vehicles being transported by private truckers. At least one guard was reported killed." LA Times
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"Nato is negotiating with Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to allow supplies for Nato forces, including fuel, to cross borders into Afghanistan from the north. The deal, which officials said was close to being agreed, follows an agreement with Moscow this year allowing Nato supplies to be transported by rail or road through Russia.
The deal could allow more fuel for Nato forces to be transported from refineries in Baku, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan. Most of the 75m gallons of fuel estimated to be used by Nato forces annually in Afghanistan comes from refineries in Pakistan.
Germany and Spain, whose troops are based in more peaceful northern Afghanistan, have negotiated separate bilateral air transport agreements with Russia.
Nato officials said yesterday that the organization is negotiating with Ukraine and Belarus for a land route which, though long, would avoid Pakistan and the pirates of the Gulf of Aden." Guardian
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The long standing vulnerability of coalition forces in Iraq to "line of communication" (LOC) interdiction on the roads from Kuwait to central Iraq was never exploited to its potential by the inhabitants of the Shia south of Iraq. Conflicted Shia politics, and Iranian unwillingness to bring on that great a crisis were largely responsible for the avoidance of what might have been a catastrophic situation.
There do not seem to be similar inhibitions with regard to LOCs leading to Afghanistan. Political and business relationships in Pakistan are entwined in complex patterns that are exacerbating the threat to land based LOCs that extend from Karachi to Kabul through the FATA and from Karachi to Kandahar through Baluchistan.
The NATO powers are wisely seeking alternative routes through Russia and the central Asian states.
This is a good idea but I am sure that everyone involved understands that these new LOCs will give the hosting countries a great deal of leverage. pl
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/09/afghanistan-nato-supply-routes
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-pakistan8-2008dec08,0,2335333.story
