NATO opens northern supply route to Afghanistan via Russia/Central Asia

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NATO opens northern supply route to Afghanistan via Russia, Central Asia !


NATO opens northern supply route to Afghanistan via Russia, Central Asia
By: Eileen Shim, The Associated Press

11/06/2010 10:06 AM | Comments: 0

BRUSSELS - NATO has opened an alternate supply route to Afghanistan via Russia and central Asia — a critical development that gives it the ability to bypass the previous ambush-prone main routes through Pakistan, the alliance said Friday.

Until now, most supplies destined for the 140,000-strong international force in Afghanistan were shipped to the Pakistani port of Karachi, and then trucked to the landlocked nation. But with the Taliban and their sympathizers targeting the convoys, military planners sought other alternatives.

"We will take advantage of all transport routes available as soon as possible," NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said.

The development is important because it signals Russian willingness to indirectly support the NATO-led mission. Moscow has been warmer to the mission's success in recent years, fearing that a NATO defeat in Afghanistan could destabilize central Asia and endanger Russia's security.

Although Russia offered to open its territory to NATO as a whole two years ago, the alliance did not immediately take them up on the offer. After a spate of ambushes in Pakistan in 2009, NATO started negotiating transit rights with Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, which took almost a year to complete.

Individual alliance members, such as Germany and the United States, were allowed to use the so-called northern route for non-lethal materials — but it was closed to alliance forces as a whole. About 14,000 maritime containers full of supplies had arrived via the northern route before it was opened to the whole alliance, U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates said.

"It is substantial," he said. "The central Asian states and Russia are playing a key role both in terms of ground transportation and overflights."

There are two other possible access routes to Afghanistan, through Iran and China.

But the alliance cannot use the one through Iran's southeastern port of Chahar Bahar because of the political dispute over Tehran's nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, a dirt road from China through the Wakhan Corridor, leads through some of the world's most mountainous terrain and is blocked by snow for much of the year.

___

Associated Press writer Slobodan Lekic contributed to this report.
NATO opens northern supply route to Afghanistan via Russia, Central Asia - Winnipeg Free Press

 

[star123]

I hope it is on the topic.

Al Faida – how Pakistan milks the US and NATO



NATO’s supply route through Pakistan is a gravy train for the military establishment…and the Taliban

Western troops fighting in Afghanistan depend on the Karachi-Khyber-Kabul supply route for 70 to 80 percent of their needs. While its importance to US and NATO forces has received considerable coverage in recent months, there has been less attention given to its importance for Pakistan’s military establishment.

The National Logistics Corporation (or the National Logistics Cell, NLC) is an ostensibly civilian entity staffed by serving and retired military personnel, and owned by the Pakistani army. According to the February 2009 issue of the Herald, a Pakistani monthly, it charges NATO between 200,000 to 250,000 Pakistani rupees per container arriving at Karachi, and pays private truckers between 100,000 to 150,000 for moving them to Afghanistan. In other words it makes a neat 100,000 Pakistani rupees in middleman’s fees. Going by an average exchange rate of 65 Pakistani rupees to a US dollar, the NLC made around $1500 per container. The number of containers landing in Karachi daily has varied between 1000 in early 2002, to around 300 earlier this year. Taking the lower figure, the NLC made around $450,000 every day, or over $164 million each year. Between 2002-2008, the NLC made at least $1.15 billion. And the meter is still running.

The Frontier Constabulary, a paramilitary force, collects a minimum of $150 per container in security charges from truckers, which adds up to $115 million over 2002-2008. This money goes directly to the Pakistani military establishment and is in addition to the $10 billion that the Bush administration gave Pakistan over that period. [This analysis is based on the figures in Massoud Ansari's "My Way, Not the Highway", in Herald February 2009, and Jawwad Rizvi's "Rs 90 million go in air daily" in The News January 28-29, 2009 (via PEW). Mr Rizvi adds that the NLC charges between 15,000 to 25,000 Pakistani rupees for "no objection certificates"]

That’s not all. Karachi port authorities made at least $260 per container in assorted port charges, or around $200 million over seven years. The Pakistani government collects a fuel tax of Rs 25 per litre of diesel. According to one estimate the average fuel consumption per container per trip is 1200 litres, which amounts to $460 in taxes per trip. Over seven years fuel tax revenues alone are to the tune of $350 million. So the ‘civilian’ government received at least $550 million in additional revenues from the exercise.

The truckers themselves make around $1900 per container, and made around $1.5 billion over the past seven years. Clearly, they didn’t keep all of this, having to pay off various government officials and militants. Some of the trucking companies could well have owners connected to the military establishment.

That’s not all, either: the ‘militants’ collected an average of $400 per container to let them pass through their territory. Over $300 million went into the their pockets.

That too is not all. For only around 60 percent of the goods were actually delivered to their recipients, the rest being lost, stolen or destroyed en route. A flourishing trade in US and NATO military equipment exists in the markets of Pakistani towns like Peshawar and Quetta. Everything from crates of alcohol to helicopter spares is on the block.

That’s a lot of al-Faida for the Pakistani economy and for the Pakistani military establishment—a rough estimate is around $500 million per year. The political economy around the supply route is likely to have created strong vested interests in ensuring that the gravy train does not stop. Yet the Pakistani military establishment is ready to put these benefits at risk—squeezing the route to exert pressure on the US and NATO in Afghanistan. So where are the clever Indian analysts who argued that transit revenues from the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline will prevent the Pakistani military from disrupting the natural gas flows to India?
Al Faida – how Pakistan milks the US and NATO | The Acorn

 

[Awesome]

I hope now the US closes its supply route through Pakistan. So at least we can fight a less focused Taliban.

The breadcrumbs we're paid in, do not make up for the scores of bomb blasts that take place anyway.

 

[Hyde]

I hope now the US closes its supply route through Pakistan. So at least we can fight a less focused Taliban.

The breadcrumbs we're paid in, do not make up for the scores of bomb blasts that take place anyway.

Unfortunately this is not possible. Pakistan's supply route is their jegular vein and the most easiest, cheapest and convienient way of supply through the sea.

US can close its supply routes from Central asian countries once again but never from Pakistan

 

[jeypore]

I hope it is on the topic.

Al Faida – how Pakistan milks the US and NATO



NATO’s supply route through Pakistan is a gravy train for the military establishment…and the Taliban

Western troops fighting in Afghanistan depend on the Karachi-Khyber-Kabul supply route for 70 to 80 percent of their needs. While its importance to US and NATO forces has received considerable coverage in recent months, there has been less attention given to its importance for Pakistan’s military establishment.

The National Logistics Corporation (or the National Logistics Cell, NLC) is an ostensibly civilian entity staffed by serving and retired military personnel, and owned by the Pakistani army. According to the February 2009 issue of the Herald, a Pakistani monthly, it charges NATO between 200,000 to 250,000 Pakistani rupees per container arriving at Karachi, and pays private truckers between 100,000 to 150,000 for moving them to Afghanistan. In other words it makes a neat 100,000 Pakistani rupees in middleman’s fees. Going by an average exchange rate of 65 Pakistani rupees to a US dollar, the NLC made around $1500 per container. The number of containers landing in Karachi daily has varied between 1000 in early 2002, to around 300 earlier this year. Taking the lower figure, the NLC made around $450,000 every day, or over $164 million each year. Between 2002-2008, the NLC made at least $1.15 billion. And the meter is still running.

The Frontier Constabulary, a paramilitary force, collects a minimum of $150 per container in security charges from truckers, which adds up to $115 million over 2002-2008. This money goes directly to the Pakistani military establishment and is in addition to the $10 billion that the Bush administration gave Pakistan over that period. [This analysis is based on the figures in Massoud Ansari's "My Way, Not the Highway", in Herald February 2009, and Jawwad Rizvi's "Rs 90 million go in air daily" in The News January 28-29, 2009 (via PEW). Mr Rizvi adds that the NLC charges between 15,000 to 25,000 Pakistani rupees for "no objection certificates"]

That’s not all. Karachi port authorities made at least $260 per container in assorted port charges, or around $200 million over seven years. The Pakistani government collects a fuel tax of Rs 25 per litre of diesel. According to one estimate the average fuel consumption per container per trip is 1200 litres, which amounts to $460 in taxes per trip. Over seven years fuel tax revenues alone are to the tune of $350 million. So the ‘civilian’ government received at least $550 million in additional revenues from the exercise.

The truckers themselves make around $1900 per container, and made around $1.5 billion over the past seven years. Clearly, they didn’t keep all of this, having to pay off various government officials and militants. Some of the trucking companies could well have owners connected to the military establishment.

That’s not all, either: the ‘militants’ collected an average of $400 per container to let them pass through their territory. Over $300 million went into the their pockets.

That too is not all. For only around 60 percent of the goods were actually delivered to their recipients, the rest being lost, stolen or destroyed en route. A flourishing trade in US and NATO military equipment exists in the markets of Pakistani towns like Peshawar and Quetta. Everything from crates of alcohol to helicopter spares is on the block.

That’s a lot of al-Faida for the Pakistani economy and for the Pakistani military establishment—a rough estimate is around $500 million per year. The political economy around the supply route is likely to have created strong vested interests in ensuring that the gravy train does not stop. Yet the Pakistani military establishment is ready to put these benefits at risk—squeezing the route to exert pressure on the US and NATO in Afghanistan. So where are the clever Indian analysts who argued that transit revenues from the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline will prevent the Pakistani military from disrupting the natural gas flows to India?
Al Faida – how Pakistan milks the US and NATO | The Acorn

I hate these useless stories makers without any hard proof, it could be Pakistanies or Indians.

This is bunch of Crap!!!

 

[star123]

Unfortunately this is not possible. Pakistan's supply route is their jegular vein and the most easiest, cheapest and convienient way of supply through the sea.

US can close its supply routes from Central asian countries once again but never from Pakistan

If USA and NATO think of COST then they would not be fighting in afghanistan first place.

 

[Hyde]

If USA and NATO think of COST then they would not be fighting in afghanistan first place.

neither at one stage reaching on the verge of collapse nor the unemployment would have increased and everybody be living happily, employed and healthy as ever before.

Whatever money they spent on WoT could have been used to bail out all recession hit economies and it would have been a lot easier for them to recover from all crisis.

 

[jeypore]

I hope now the US closes its supply route through Pakistan. So at least we can fight a less focused Taliban.

I would not be so sure of that statement Mr. Asim, You need US more badly then US needs you. Like the Head of the NATO forces have said today, That we are in the Region not to Change it into 21 Century, but keep America safe from future Terrorist issues.

 

[jeypore]

If USA and NATO think of COST then they would not be fighting in afghanistan first place.

What about 911!!!

Do you think they are fighting for that?

 

[star123]

What about 911!!!

Do you think they are fighting for that?

Yes. They are fighting there so that no more 911 again.

 

[masijames]

I like the way Pakistan deal with US ... I ll tell you how it goes... US is like do more Pakistan is Like pay us more we will do more lollll

Al Faida – how Pakistan milks the US and NATO

 

[PakSher]

This is great news. Opening the northern route will divide the Talibaan operations and weaken them. They will now have to fight on another front. Pakistan will have less trouble as well. It will be good if all supplies go through Northern Front. Our economy was growing 7-8% before we got in this WOT.

Great news.

 

[TechLahore]

^^ Actually we should initiate this "shutdown". The supply route has been nothing but a nuisance and a source of misery. Now that our allies have managed to arrange such a convenient and safe alternate, why run this route through Pakistan. End it once and for all and let's move on to the future.

 

[PakSher]

^^ Actually we should initiate this "shutdown". The supply route has been nothing but a nuisance and a source of misery. Now that our allies have managed to arrange such a convenient and safe alternate, why run this route through Pakistan. End it once and for all and let's move on to the future.

Totally agree 100%. Close this route for good. There are many other countries that can be used.

 

[jeypore]

neither at one stage reaching on the verge of collapse nor the unemployment would have increased and everybody be living happily, employed and healthy as ever before.

Whatever money they spent on WoT could have been used to bail out all recession hit economies and it would have been a lot easier for them to recover from all crisis.

So from your sentence, if America did not start all these fights, it would of had enough money to save other economies, especially Pakistans... What a uesless assumtions.

Islamic fundamental Terrorist is the new war or the third war prevention war!!!!