U.S. reaches deal on Afghan supply routes

[unhappycamper]

U.S. reaches deal on Afghan supply routes
By Chris Brummitt - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jan 20, 2009 22:13:45 EST

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Russia and neighboring Central Asian nations have agreed to let supplies pass through their territory to American soldiers in Afghanistan, lessening Washington’s dependence on dangerous routes through Pakistan, a top U.S. commander said.

Securing alternative routes to landlocked Afghanistan has taken on added urgency this year as the United States prepares to double troop numbers there to 60,000 to battle a resurgent Taliban eight years after the U.S.-led invasion.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani army said Tuesday it had killed 60 militants in a stepped up offensive close to the Afghan border, a lawless region considered a likely hiding place for Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaida leaders. Washington has long urged Islamabad to take the fight to the insurgents sheltering there.

U.S. and NATO forces get up to 75 percent of their “non-lethal” supplies such as food, fuel and building materials from shipments that traverse Pakistan, a volatile, nuclear-armed country.

The main road through the Khyber Pass in the northwest of the country has occasionally been closed in recent months due to rising attacks by bandits and Islamist militants.


Rest of article at: http://navytimes.com/news/2009/01/ap_petraeus_pakistan_012009/%2e



uhc comment: I'll bet the Russians are laughing their collective asses off.

[newfie11]

1. Why can these supplies not be dropped by air? n/t