Saturday, August 30, 2008

The Taliban Are Going After NATO's Lifeline In Afghanistan

Paramilitary soldiers patrol during an operation near Bara, a town in the Khyber tribal region near the Afghan border June 29, 2008. Security forces have secured an area in Pakistan's Khyber region, through which a main supply route passes into Afghanistan, a day after launching an offensive to push back militants threatening Peshawar.

Taliban Ambushes Threaten Nato's Vital Logistics
Route Into Afghanistan -- Telegraph


Taliban fighters are trying to strangle Nato's mission in Afghanistan by stepping up attacks on convoys in the Khyber Pass, the perilous mountain trail that carries most supplies into the country.

Using age-old guerrilla tactics, they hijack or destroy the ponderous lorries creeping up the narrow road and sell the contents in local bazaars to finance new raids.

A prominent, independent tribesman from the Khyber region, who cannot be named for his own safety, told The Sunday Telegraph that the Pakistani army was close to losing control of the pass.

"You see vehicles destroyed by rockets on the side of the road," he said. "The wreckage isn't there for long, the army soon removes it to make it look as if they are still in control of the road. But they are on the verge of losing it."

Read more ....

My Comment: As the war between the Taliban and the Pakistani Army increases, supply lines become fair game. Nato and Afghanistan are going to lose these supply routes very soon (if not already) as Pakistan becomes more unstable and unreliable. I guess it is now time to think of alternatives .... if there are any.

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