American's Imperiled Military Lifeline through Pakistan

Cato Institute Website ^ | December 28, 2008 | Malou Innocent and Ted Galen Carpenter

[dr_who]

After months of increased attacks on supply trucks, U.S. and NATO officials are scrambling for alternative routes to sustain its forces in land-locked Afghanistan. Today, three-quarters of NATO provisions bound for Afghanistan must travel through the deteriorating security environment in neighboring Pakistan. If U.S. and NATO leaders intend to establish new routes for the mission, they will have to make concessions to surrounding countries including Iran and Russia.

Militants operating in and around the Pakistani tribal region of Khyber Agency have repeatedly hijacked supply vehicles entering Afghanistan. Earlier this month, gunmen torched more than 160 vehicles near the Pakistani border city of Peshawar, the biggest assault yet on the vital military supply line. Last March, dozens of oil tankers were attacked in the tribal town of Landi Kotal. If the Pakistani supply routes are severed, Washington's options are not good.

[dr_who]

I'm not sure I have any confidence left in any branch of the federal government anymore. Is anyone paying attention, much less in charge?

[Plutarch]

The British had a problem before at the Khyber Pass

.

Meanwhile, the British forces in Kabul had capitulated, 17,000 Europeans were assured that they would receive safe passage from Afghanistan, however, once away from Kabul they were attacked, just one hundred survived to be taken prisoner and only one person, Dr. Brydon, reached Jellalabad alive.

[aught-6]

I guess the supply route needs to be hammered through Iran.

[Dawnsblood]

It is only endangered because we are relying on the Pakis.... We can secure them ourselves.

[dr_who]

So you’re saying, we should have sizeable armed presence in Pakistan to guard our supply lines? Is something wrong with this picture? What do you think are the chances of that happening? After all, why do so many people think that Al Qaeda is hiding in Pakistan in the first place?

[justa-hairyape]

Our forces in Afghanistan are in a very precarious position. Being caught in a vice between China and Russia. China's puppet in the region is Pakistan. Russia's puppet in the region is Iran. The population of Pakistan is too large for the US to control or take on without a draft. About 5 to 6 times larger then Iraq. And obviously when Iran goes Nuclear, we wont be able to take either one of them on without endangering the region to nuclear retaliation. Being caught between the Nuclear Armed Islamist Chinese Puppet Pakistan and the Nuclear Armed Islamist Russian Puppet Iran, without a major supply line, is a nightmare scenario that Obama will embrace fully. My guess is he will surge NATO and US into Afghanistan, negotiate some alternative supply route and when the time is ripe, that alternative supply route will also be closed. Thus, the Russians and Chinese will have effectively cutoff 60-80 thousand NATO troops (after the surge). Those troops would have to fight their way out through either Iran or Pakistan. And you need to check out the terrain in this region on Google Earth to see how impossible that would be.

[Grimmy]

You’re assuming that such a sizable armed presence of ours in Pakistan would give a squat what the locals think, once they’re taken off the “pretend we’re friends” list.

We may well be coming up to that point where there is no more value in playing the nice guy with double dealing scumbags.

Pakistan was never our friend. Pakistan was never our ally. Pakistan only cooperated as much as it did/has, because Pakistan had no real options to do otherwise. Now, Pakistan thinks it has options. Now, maybe we can break that puss pit of murder/death cult spawning degeneracy and treat them to a taste of total war.

[DieHard the Hunter]

> and treat them to a taste of total war.

That hasn’t happened since WW-II and, unless His Excellency has a few nice surprises for us up his sleeve, it ain’t going to happen again under Obama.

[Rappini]

I think we should start mass producing the MOAB, just a thought.

[Dawnsblood]

We could if we chose to. It would not take much to embed a squad or 2 with each convoy. The Taliban and tribal folk tend to succeed at this because the guards on the convoys run instead of fight. A squad or two, backed by air assets, would have no problem dealing with the raiding parties. That said however, we are negotiating with the Russians to secure a northern resupply route. Assuming that happens, the Taliban will have to find another way to interdict us. I doubt the Russians and their client ‘Stans will tolerate it.

[Grimmy]

Hasn’t happened because we haven’t been pushed to the point where it was required, since.

The Obamination did speak of war with Pakistan as one of his platform issues.

There is hope that that particular enemy may actually get treated as an enemy. (I mean Pakistan, not the marxist pos that the intellectual inbred sacks of leftist scum voted into office).

[Rebelbase]

Theater tea leaves: The build-up in Afghanistan is the precursor to spec ops/Marines invasion of the Pak NW provinces.