The Northern route works?
Cavguy,
Maybe some are saying, as you stated:
Quote:
Heard that through deals w/Russia and the Stans, 70% of our Afghanistan logistics now comes from the north rather than through Pakistan. That is a change that has occurred over the last 6-12 months.....For those thinking along those lines, I imagine that's what we got when we traded the missile defense in East Europe. Seems a good deal to me.
Elsewhere and from SWJ daily roundup: Russian Deal on Afghan Supply Route Not a Deal Yet - Peter Baker, New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/14/wo...s.html?_r=1&hp.
Quote:
When he met President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia in April, President Obama sought to open an important new supply corridor for Afghanistan by flying American troops and weapons through Russian airspace. Visiting Moscow in July, he sealed a deal for as many as 4,500 flights a year, in what he called a “substantial contribution” to the war and a sign of improving relations with Russia. Seven months after the idea was raised and four months after the agreement was signed, the number of American flights that have actually traversed Russian airspace? One. ....For eight years, the American military has struggled to find and maintain reliable supply routes into Afghanistan, but Mr. Obama may send more troops in a single order than at any point in the war, straining the system.
I don't doubt that people and some supplies can be flown into the 'stans', but enough heavier items and particularly fuel cannot. Now maybe we can buy fuel locally from the 'stans'?
I'd like to some references to the Northern route having such capacity (70% cited). Karachi remains IMHO the port and the roads northwards.
Russian (Northern) route to open
A small item that suggests that the Russian route has yet to open: http://www.cdi.org/russia/johnson/2009-170-32.cfm
Quote:
Airplanes en route to Afghanistan carrying U.S. cargo will start flying over Russian airspace in the near future, the ambassador said.
Northern route: a comment from afar
Jedburgh,
Thanks for this:
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CSIS, 10 Nov 09: The MAGAI™ Construct and the Northern Distribution Network
Good strategic viewpoint and IMHO hopeless on what can be achieved now and soon.
I was puzzled at the maps, the Pakistani railways are little-used, in great contrast to India; and the Karokorum Highway was a great PR scheme for China, but use for trading in volumes? No. Overland transport rarely beats slow and steady sea transport.
Will the US DoD use Russian controlled and influenced land routes for anything but the most innocuous items? Methinks not.
The lack of logistic support is one reason why I have questioned a larger foriegn commitment in Afghanistan. Ironically a safer way is via Iran, an even more prickly political issue, but not a logistic issue!
Trucks attacked in Karachi
The first time IIRC of NATO / US supply trucks attacked there:http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/29/wo...html?ref=world
NATO loses 0.1% in Pakistani transit
Within a far wider article on Pakistan-US relations this snippet for here:
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Convoys bringing supplies for the NATO mission in Afghanistan used to be preyed on frequently by terrorists and thieves; but as a result of the improved security, NATO is now losing only about 0.1 percent of the goods it ships across Pakistan.
Link:http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/24/op...l?pagewanted=1
Northern Routes Being Targeted
A somewhat recent issue of PBS's Frontline touches on how the Taliban and their allies are trying allocate more resources to the north to counter this shift in convoys.
Link: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontl...banlines/view/
Quote:
Afghan journalist Najibullah Quraishi journeys deep into the insurgents' territory as they attempt to sabotage an important new American supply route and open up a dangerous new front in the north.