By RIAZ KHAN, Associated Press Writer
PESHAWAR, Pakistan – Assailants torched 10 trucks stranded in Pakistan by the bombing of a key bridge on the main supply route for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, an official said Wednesday.
Increasing attacks on transport depots and truck convoys heading to bases across the border have raised doubts about Pakistan's ability to protect the vital road as the U.S. prepares to send as many as 30,000 more American forces into Afghanistan this year.
Attackers set fire to at least 10 trucks parked overnight near Landi Kotal, a town close to the famed Khyber Pass that connects Pakistan with Afghanistan, local government official Fazl Rabi said.
The trucks were returning from Afghanistan and it was unclear if they had carried goods for foreign troops, Rabi said.
U.S. officials have played down any concern about running out of food or fuel, despite pressure on their supply lines. American forces stockpile enough supplies to last 60-90 days in the event that their supply chain is severed, U.S. officials say.
The Khyber route was cut Tuesday when suspected militants set off a bomb that wrecked a bridge across a rocky gorge near the pass. The red metal bridge was twisted and partially collapsed at one end.
Bakhtiar Khan, another local government official, said Pakistan army engineers were working on the bridge with the aim of reopening it by Thursday.
Khan said cars and other small vehicles were able to cross the gorge by picking their way along a rough track that crossed the dry river bed near the bridge but that no trucks were moving.
Some 75 percent of U.S. supplies to Afghanistan currently travel through Pakistan, and securing efficient and safe supply routes into Afghanistan has become a top priority for U.S. officials.
With Taliban militants gaining strength on both sides of the border, American and NATO officials have been seeking alternative routes through Central Asia.
But Kyrgyzstan on Tuesday raised a new obstacle for the U.S. by threatening to close American access to a Kyrgyz air base. The U.S. Embassy in the Central Asian country said Wednesday that both sides were still in talks on maintaining a base there.
Meanwhile, militants released 30 police and paramilitary officers they kidnapped late Tuesday after surrounding a police station in the Swat Valley, a police officer said. The valley, in Pakistan's northwest, was once a popular tourist destination but the growing influence of insurgents and a related surge in violence have made it too dangerous for travelers.
Swat police cheif Dilawar Khan Bangash said the men were released after pressure from tribal elders.
On Monday, John Solecki, an American U.N. worker was kidnapped as he traveled to work in Quetta city in Baluchistan. Police said it was not clear whether Islamist militants, criminals seeking a ransom payment or members of a regional separatist group were responsible. Authorities are questioning more than a dozen people in connection with the abduction.
Showing posts with label Afghanistan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Afghanistan. Show all posts
04 February 2009
03 February 2009
HEADLINES: Kyrgyzstan to close U.S. base used to supply Afghanistan
By Tom Lasseter, McClatchy Newspapers
MOSCOW — In a setback to the escalating U.S. military efforts in Afghanistan , the president of Kyrgyzstan said Tuesday that his government will shut down the American air base in his country.
U.S. officials say that the Manas Air Base is vital to plans to send an additional 30,000 American troops to Afghanistan , a linchpin of President Barack Obama's efforts to pacify the country.
The announcement by President Kurmanbek Bakiyev came in Moscow , not in his own capital, and shortly after the Russian government reportedly agreed to lend Kyrgyzstan $2 billion , write off $180 million in debt and add another $150 million in aid. Although the Russian government didn't release a statement about the decision, the timing and place of the announcement indicated that the Kremlin had been involved.
The Russian government has been pushing to restore its clout in the former Soviet sphere of influence — despite deep economic problems at home — a trend that most analysts say will make Obama's dealings with Russia delicate at best.
"It's a direct challenge to the new American administration. Russia is going out of its way to close an American base," said Pavel Felgenhauer , a Moscow -based military analyst.
Two weeks ago, Gen. David Petraeus , the head of the U.S. Central Command, which oversees American military operations in the Middle East and south Asia , said that senior Kyrgyz officials had assured him that there were no discussions between the country and Russia about closing the base in exchange for aid.
The Manas installation is viewed as "the premier air-mobility hub" for U.S. and allied operations in Afghanistan , with about 1,000 military personnel from America, Spain and France stationed there, according to a U.S. Air Force Web site.
Bakiyev explained in Moscow that the decision had been made because "we have repeatedly raised with the United States the matter of economic compensation for the existence of the base in Kyrgyzstan , but we have not been understood," Russian news wires reported.
Bakiyev said that after the base opened in 2001 the understanding was that "it was one or two years that were being talked about. Eight years have passed."
Last month, the Kremlin said it would open transportation lines through Russia to Afghanistan to help U.S. forces circumvent the violence-plagued route across the Pakistani border.
Analyst Felgenhauer said the message from the two actions was clear: The Kremlin is willing to help the American military in Afghanistan , but only on the condition that the United States recognizes its authority in central Asia .
Or, more simply put, "we will not allow their bases in our sphere of influence," said Felgenhauer, a critic of Kremlin policy.
Although he didn't cite the base closing, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev made a point of saying in Moscow that Kyrgyzstan and Russia "are open to coordinated action" with the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan .
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My husband, konashark, was in Afghanistan last year, stationed at Kabul Airport for six months. He flew in and out by way of Manas. I wonder what time frame they expect for this closure. And someone else suggested that maybe the Russian government is poking Obama - is this a test?
MOSCOW — In a setback to the escalating U.S. military efforts in Afghanistan , the president of Kyrgyzstan said Tuesday that his government will shut down the American air base in his country.
U.S. officials say that the Manas Air Base is vital to plans to send an additional 30,000 American troops to Afghanistan , a linchpin of President Barack Obama's efforts to pacify the country.
The announcement by President Kurmanbek Bakiyev came in Moscow , not in his own capital, and shortly after the Russian government reportedly agreed to lend Kyrgyzstan $2 billion , write off $180 million in debt and add another $150 million in aid. Although the Russian government didn't release a statement about the decision, the timing and place of the announcement indicated that the Kremlin had been involved.
The Russian government has been pushing to restore its clout in the former Soviet sphere of influence — despite deep economic problems at home — a trend that most analysts say will make Obama's dealings with Russia delicate at best.
"It's a direct challenge to the new American administration. Russia is going out of its way to close an American base," said Pavel Felgenhauer , a Moscow -based military analyst.
Two weeks ago, Gen. David Petraeus , the head of the U.S. Central Command, which oversees American military operations in the Middle East and south Asia , said that senior Kyrgyz officials had assured him that there were no discussions between the country and Russia about closing the base in exchange for aid.
The Manas installation is viewed as "the premier air-mobility hub" for U.S. and allied operations in Afghanistan , with about 1,000 military personnel from America, Spain and France stationed there, according to a U.S. Air Force Web site.
Bakiyev explained in Moscow that the decision had been made because "we have repeatedly raised with the United States the matter of economic compensation for the existence of the base in Kyrgyzstan , but we have not been understood," Russian news wires reported.
Bakiyev said that after the base opened in 2001 the understanding was that "it was one or two years that were being talked about. Eight years have passed."
Last month, the Kremlin said it would open transportation lines through Russia to Afghanistan to help U.S. forces circumvent the violence-plagued route across the Pakistani border.
Analyst Felgenhauer said the message from the two actions was clear: The Kremlin is willing to help the American military in Afghanistan , but only on the condition that the United States recognizes its authority in central Asia .
Or, more simply put, "we will not allow their bases in our sphere of influence," said Felgenhauer, a critic of Kremlin policy.
Although he didn't cite the base closing, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev made a point of saying in Moscow that Kyrgyzstan and Russia "are open to coordinated action" with the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan .
----------------
My husband, konashark, was in Afghanistan last year, stationed at Kabul Airport for six months. He flew in and out by way of Manas. I wonder what time frame they expect for this closure. And someone else suggested that maybe the Russian government is poking Obama - is this a test?
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