2011-12-02

Furious at Latest U.S. Attack, Pakistan Shuts Down Resupply Routes to Afghanistan "Permanently"

Bruecke Note: This was emailed to us with the following statement.

I wanted to send you a quick mail about an article one of our journalists has just written as I thought your readers would be very interested in what we have uncovered about the recent disastrous NATO friendly fire event in Pakistan which has unleashed a perfect storm as re-supply routes for Afghanistan have been closed permanently.

The Pentagon and Washington are putting the best PR spin possible and keeping their fingers crossed.

This will have a massive impact on the region and NATO's efforts in Afghanistan as Pakistan are not to be placated. In fact its impact is already being felt as Pakistan has closed all its border crossing into Afghanistan, where roughly 50 percent of ISAF troops' logistics flow through, carrying everything from fuel to food.

The article is not available for publication in its entirety - but we are happy for you to use extracts as we thought it a topic your readers may be interested in:

Furious at Latest U.S. Attack, Pakistan Shuts Down Resupply Routes to Afghanistan "Permanently"
Bruecke Note: So in keeping with the guidelines of that statement, I will only re-produce some extracts as well as the link to the source.

http://oilprice.com/Geo-Politics/International/Furious-at-Latest-U.S.-Attack-Pakistan-Shuts-Down-Resupply-Routes-to-Afghanistan-Permanently.html

By: John Daly 
Date: 2011-12-01

NATO recently literally shot itself in the foot, imperiling the resupply of International Assistance Forces (ISAF) in Afghanistan by shooting up two Pakistani border posts in a “hot pursuit’ raid.

Given that roughly 100 fuel tanker trucks along with 200 other trucks loaded with NATO supplies cross into Afghanistan each day from Pakistan, Pakistan’s closure of the border has ominous long-term consequences for the logistical resupply of ISAF forces, even as Pentagon officials downplay the issue and scramble for alternative resupply routes.
...

So, what does this mean for logistical support of ISAF forces? According to Nesar Ahmad Nasery, the deputy head of Torkham Customs, around 1,000 trucks cross into Afghanistan on a daily basis, nearly 300 of which are NATO contractors carrying NATO supplies in sealed containers. Khyber Transport Association chief Shakir Afridi said that each oil tanker has a capacity of 13,000-15,000 gallons. In October 2010 Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen said that fossil fuels are the number one import to Afghanistan.

Noting the obvious, as Afghanistan has no indigenous hydrocarbon supplies, every drop must be brought in, with transit greatly increasing the eventual cost. For 2001-2008, almost all U.S. and NATO supplies were trucked overland to Afghanistan through parts of Pakistan effectively controlled by the Taliban.


The article is reproduced in accordance with Section 107 of title 17 of the Copyright Law of the United States relating to fair-use and is for the purposes of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.

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