Pak Blockade may Rocket Afghan Pullout Costs

Military.com ^ | 2/23/2012 | Michael Hoffman

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If Pakistani leaders don’t open the military supply lines to Afghanistan in time for the U.S. military to withdraw in earnest, the cost of the pullout could grow four or even five times, a top Army commander said here Wednesday.

As of Wednesday, the Pakistani supply routes for American forces into Afghanistan had been closed for 89 days. With no resumption in sight for normal supply lines, Army leaders are coming to grips with the startling reality the U.S. military might not have access to Pakistan’s ports to haul out the massive infrastructure it has built up in Afghanistan.

The Army is now testing whether soldiers and contractors can drive out the countless metal containers on a route called the Northern Distribution Network, that winds through the countries north of Afghanistan. If they must rely only on that route and air transport, it could as much as quintuple the cost, said Maj. Gen. Kevin Leonard, the head of Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command.

Pakistan closed the border to NATO in November after an air strike by a U.S. drone accidentally killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. The U.S. had enlisted a team of contractors driving what are called Jingo trucks through the Pakistan and Afghan mountains from Pakistan’s ports packed with military supplies.

[ravager]

Also 100% tariffs wont affect Pakistan. Here is why..... When you buy a $10 shirt that says “Made in Pakistan” remember the actual labor cost of making the shirt in Pakistan is probably less then 50 cents. The rest of the costs involves shipping, packaging, inventory, marketing, branding and retailing, most of which happens in the US. Applying tariff to 50 cents worth of labor cost wont even be noticeable in the overall product cost.