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KABULThe U.S. military's efforts to ship out the mountains of equipment it accumulated over 11 years of Afghan war began in earnest this month, when a trial load of military hardware trucked through Pakistan set sail from the port of Karachi.
The shipment, which included more than 70 containers and 20 military vehicles, was a crucial test of a plan to bring home an estimated $22 billion in U.S. military gear from landlocked Afghanistan. Until now, the Pakistani route was used for supplies entering Afghanistan, rather than exiting.
U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Steven Shapiro, deputy commanding general of the 1st Theater Sustainment Command, said the successful delivery proved that the coalition's transit route through Pakistan would enable the military to meet President Barack Obama's goal of cutting the size of the 66,000-strong American force in Afghanistan by half by next February.
"Pakistan certainly has a vested interest in getting it right too, because it's a big deal for them," Gen. Shapiro said. "So we feel very confident that the Pakistani military is going to help us move through Pakistan."
The route through Karachi may, however, prove problematic. In recent months, several large neighborhoods in the city have fallen under the sway of the Taliban. Further underscoring the risks, a suicide bomber on Friday attacked a Pakistani security convoy in the northern city of Peshawar, which lies along one of two the main transportation corridors.
The bomb exploded around half a mile from the U.S. consulate in the city. Jameel Shah, a spokesman for Peshawar's Lady Reading Hospital, said 12 people were killed.
Gen. Shapiro said Friday he wasn't alarmed by recent security incidents along the Pakistan route, and said the U.S. had alternatives to shipping through the country. "We're not going to put all of our eggs in one basket," he said.
The U.S. began taking out equipment last year as part of the withdrawal of 33,000 surge troops. The military says it now plans to move a combined total of around 100 containers and vehicles per week through Pakistan, a figure that is going to increase gradually over the coming weeks.
When the exodus is in full swingmilitary commanders expect the logistics push to reach its peak this Augustthe U.S. will be sending about 1,500 military vehicles and 1,000 containers per month out of Afghanistan. The majorityaround two-thirds of that cargowill move through Pakistan, military officials say.
The most sensitive equipment, such as weapons and communications systems, must be flown out by air, the costliest option. U.S. officials have also negotiated an alternative overland route, dubbed the Northern Distribution Network, through Central Asia to Baltic and Black Sea ports. While more expensive than the route through Pakistan, the NDN isn't exposed to attacks by Pakistani Taliban.
In the past, militants in Pakistan's tribal areas have sporadically attacked U.S. and coalition convoys bringing vital supplies into Afghanistan. And in 2011, Pakistan closed the border for months, following a coalition airstrike that claimed the lives of 24 Pakistani troops.
The pullout of American gear may also face complications as bilateral relations between Kabul and Islamabad erode. In recent weeks, top Afghan officials have said Pakistan isn't doing enough to support nascent efforts to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table, and accused Islamabad of demanding unacceptable preconditions for its assistance in peace talks.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai is currently planning a trip to the Gulf emirate of Qatar, where the Taliban last year began to establish a political office to facilitate peace talks. Aimal Faizi, Mr. Karzai's spokesman, said the Afghan president would leave "very soon" for his official trip to Qatar, where he would also meet with Qatari businessmen interested in investing in Afghanistan. Thus far, the Taliban have refused to negotiate directly with Mr. Karzai's government.
U.S. officials estimate the U.S. will spend $6 billion over around three years to remove what needs to go home by a December 2014 withdrawal deadline. The remaining equipment will be handed over to the Afghans, or simply scrapped.
Complicating the U.S. departure from Afghanistan is the lack of a friendly neighbor that can provide a holding area for military gear while it is packed, prepped and readied for shipment onward.
During the withdrawal from Iraq, U.S. commanders described neighboring Kuwait as a "catcher's mitt" for military equipment: Bases in the deserts of northern Kuwait served as giant parking lots for armored vehicles, trucks and Humvees awaiting shipment home.
Departing units could simply drive down Route Tampa, the main military supply road, and hand over the keys to their vehicles. Once that was done, equipment could be sent home from Kuwaiti ports back home to U.S. depots for maintenance, repair or storage.
Write to Nathan Hodge at nathan.hodge@wsj.com
U.S. Starts Shipping Out, via Risky Pakistan Route - WSJ.com
The shipment, which included more than 70 containers and 20 military vehicles, was a crucial test of a plan to bring home an estimated $22 billion in U.S. military gear from landlocked Afghanistan. Until now, the Pakistani route was used for supplies entering Afghanistan, rather than exiting.
U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Steven Shapiro, deputy commanding general of the 1st Theater Sustainment Command, said the successful delivery proved that the coalition's transit route through Pakistan would enable the military to meet President Barack Obama's goal of cutting the size of the 66,000-strong American force in Afghanistan by half by next February.
"Pakistan certainly has a vested interest in getting it right too, because it's a big deal for them," Gen. Shapiro said. "So we feel very confident that the Pakistani military is going to help us move through Pakistan."
The route through Karachi may, however, prove problematic. In recent months, several large neighborhoods in the city have fallen under the sway of the Taliban. Further underscoring the risks, a suicide bomber on Friday attacked a Pakistani security convoy in the northern city of Peshawar, which lies along one of two the main transportation corridors.
The bomb exploded around half a mile from the U.S. consulate in the city. Jameel Shah, a spokesman for Peshawar's Lady Reading Hospital, said 12 people were killed.
Gen. Shapiro said Friday he wasn't alarmed by recent security incidents along the Pakistan route, and said the U.S. had alternatives to shipping through the country. "We're not going to put all of our eggs in one basket," he said.
The U.S. began taking out equipment last year as part of the withdrawal of 33,000 surge troops. The military says it now plans to move a combined total of around 100 containers and vehicles per week through Pakistan, a figure that is going to increase gradually over the coming weeks.
When the exodus is in full swingmilitary commanders expect the logistics push to reach its peak this Augustthe U.S. will be sending about 1,500 military vehicles and 1,000 containers per month out of Afghanistan. The majorityaround two-thirds of that cargowill move through Pakistan, military officials say.
The most sensitive equipment, such as weapons and communications systems, must be flown out by air, the costliest option. U.S. officials have also negotiated an alternative overland route, dubbed the Northern Distribution Network, through Central Asia to Baltic and Black Sea ports. While more expensive than the route through Pakistan, the NDN isn't exposed to attacks by Pakistani Taliban.
In the past, militants in Pakistan's tribal areas have sporadically attacked U.S. and coalition convoys bringing vital supplies into Afghanistan. And in 2011, Pakistan closed the border for months, following a coalition airstrike that claimed the lives of 24 Pakistani troops.
The pullout of American gear may also face complications as bilateral relations between Kabul and Islamabad erode. In recent weeks, top Afghan officials have said Pakistan isn't doing enough to support nascent efforts to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table, and accused Islamabad of demanding unacceptable preconditions for its assistance in peace talks.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai is currently planning a trip to the Gulf emirate of Qatar, where the Taliban last year began to establish a political office to facilitate peace talks. Aimal Faizi, Mr. Karzai's spokesman, said the Afghan president would leave "very soon" for his official trip to Qatar, where he would also meet with Qatari businessmen interested in investing in Afghanistan. Thus far, the Taliban have refused to negotiate directly with Mr. Karzai's government.
U.S. officials estimate the U.S. will spend $6 billion over around three years to remove what needs to go home by a December 2014 withdrawal deadline. The remaining equipment will be handed over to the Afghans, or simply scrapped.
Complicating the U.S. departure from Afghanistan is the lack of a friendly neighbor that can provide a holding area for military gear while it is packed, prepped and readied for shipment onward.
During the withdrawal from Iraq, U.S. commanders described neighboring Kuwait as a "catcher's mitt" for military equipment: Bases in the deserts of northern Kuwait served as giant parking lots for armored vehicles, trucks and Humvees awaiting shipment home.
Departing units could simply drive down Route Tampa, the main military supply road, and hand over the keys to their vehicles. Once that was done, equipment could be sent home from Kuwaiti ports back home to U.S. depots for maintenance, repair or storage.
Write to Nathan Hodge at nathan.hodge@wsj.com
U.S. Starts Shipping Out, via Risky Pakistan Route - WSJ.com
