Article

2009-01-21 Afghanistan

U.S. to Be Allowed New Routes To Supply Troops in Afghanistan

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Posted by GolfBravoUSMC 2009-01-21 03:43|| || Front Page|| [5 views ] Top

#1 we should be scaling back any aid to Pakland since they've done little to secure the logistics route that I can see. They were playing the "you need to pay us so your supplies get through, otherwise bad things can happen" game. Now we can tell em to "FOAD, we have other routes, oh, and that big bag of boodle you were planning on? Get it from your ISI/Taliwhack friends"

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2009-01-21 08:37|| 2009-01-21 08:37|| Front Page Top

#2 Is it just me, or do all these countries have marauding bands of tribal bugbears roaming around their hinterlands?

Posted by bigjim-ky 2009-01-21 09:26|| 2009-01-21 09:26|| Front Page Top

#3 Is it just me...

It is not just you.

Posted by Spusosh the Prolific6862 2009-01-21 11:40|| 2009-01-21 11:40|| Front Page Top

#4 Yah, scale aid to Pakistan at: ZERO. What exactly is the quid pro quo from continued aid?

Posted by Muggsy Snineger4931 2009-01-21 14:32|| 2009-01-21 14:32|| Front Page Top

#5 Tell the Pakis if they want money we'll buy their nukes.

Posted by Ebbang Uluque6305 2009-01-21 15:11|| 2009-01-21 15:11|| Front Page Top

#6 "additional logistical routes into Afghanistan" through its Central Asian neighbors to the north

Does this mean Kyrgyzstan and their base is still bought by the Russians or did Petraeus match the offer? Or did we use the russkies for some future quid pro quo?

Questions abound...sick SoS cClinton on it

Posted by Dino Gleasing8837 2009-01-21 20:44|| 2009-01-21 20:44|| Front Page Top

#7 I'd have to dig my old Soviet railway atlas out of storage somewhere, but methinks that Russia and Ukraine are also on the list, even if Petraeus didn't recently travel there. Don't think you can get (practically speaking) from anywhere our stuff is likely to be available to C. Asia without transiting Ukraine and/or Russia. I suppose trans-shipping by rail from Poti to Baku in the Caucasus, then ferry to Turkmenistan, and thence onward might be possible, but awfully complicated.

The importance of all this would be that we're supplementing our risk of Paki shenanigans or incompetence with risk of Russian blackmail/unreliability in a pinch. That's still diversifying risk, but .....

Another thought is that some of the stuff might be available in Kazakhstan. Fuel I can see (so long as we procure from a refinery with quality controls), other stuff, not so much.

Back in the day we'd always try to procure locally for disaster relief, esp. in C. Asia. Mixed results (dirty fuel, bad grain, etc.) in some cases. But it was cool to buy yurts in one of the 'stans for earthquake shelter relief in another 'stan.

Posted by Verlaine 2009-01-21 23:39|| 2009-01-21 23:39|| Front Page Top

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