Davidbfpo,

I appreciate your following this issue. Like me, you have been interested in it for a while.

But the commentary is flawed. Of course we have alternatives. Easy? No. It would require work. Cheap? No. It would require financing. Serenely safe? Probably not. It would require some amount of guarding. But of course, these issues aren't so troublesome now that they can be compared to the same thing through Pakistan.

Bold? Sure. It would be right in the Russian's back yard. And maybe this would be one advantage of it, along with saving Georgia from the next Russian invasion (to get to their bases in Armenia).

http://www.captainsjournal.com/2009/...-the-caucasus/

If only we had started this process 18 months ago like I recommended, and if only they had listened to me 2.5 years ago when I told them exactly what the enemy strategy would be (attacking international and local lines of logistics).

http://www.captainsjournal.com/2008/...d-afghanistan/

I don't mean to preen, but it's all out in front of them. All of the warnings were issued. It's too late for them to complain about it now. It could have been different but they chose the current course.