Pakistan blocks NATO Afghan supplies after fatal air strike (which killed 25 Pakistani troops)

[Turborama]

Source: Reuters

Sat Nov 26, 2011 7:40am GMT

ISLAMABAD - Pakistani authorities blocked the vital supply route for NATO troops fighting in Afghanistan on Saturday after a cross-border air strike killed 25 Pakistani troops, local officials said.

Trucks and fuel tankers were stopped at Jamrud town in the Khyber tribal region near the city of Peshawar, hours after the raid, officials said.

"We have halted the supplies and some 40 tankers and trucks have been returned from the check post in Jamrud," Mutahir Zeb, a senior government official, told Reuters.

Another official said the supplies had been stopped for security reasons.

Read more: http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL4E7MQ02T20111126

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. and now the real games begin

almost feels like somebody is trying to provoque something or really bad judgement.

[geckosfeet]

9. Indeed they do.

[msongs]

2. if our president wants yet another war he can keep attacking pakistan. nt

[DeSwiss]

3. Here we go. - K&R n/t

[Poll_Blind]

4. Almost a certainty those trucks are getting torched.

I believe they've closed that or other crossings 2-3 times before, simply because we're killing so many of their own troops. Every time, bands of (somebody) come and chase off the drivers and torch the cargo, including fuel tankers.

I would be terrible surprised if it failed to happen again.

PB

[madrchsod]

7. there goes hundreds of thousand of dollars up in flames....

[Ichingcarpenter]

5. This was a Chopper Attack not from airplanes

which I think makes it even worse. NATO command calls it an 'INCIDENT', 25 dead and at least 15 wounded..
http://zeenews.india.com/news/south-asia/nato-hits-pakistan-checkpoint-25-troops-killed_743923.html

[provis99]

6. how would Americans react

if a Pakistani helicopter flew over to ft.Bragg and killed 25 American soldiers?

Appparently when we do it, its just an "Oops!" situation.

[clixtox]

8. The CIA and the "Secret Team"...

provoking another war to enrich further the USA Lords of War.

The USA has a mostly secret world-wide stockpiles of war-making assets utilized by the operations side of the CIA.

These are the clowns who organized the "Bay of Pigs", have assassinated heads of state around the world for decades including JFK,(and RFK & MLK), created the South Vietnamese Government after 1954, was responsible for U2 flights including the notorious Francis Gary Powers incident, financed Osama Bin Laden in the 1980s, have meddled in the internal politics of dozens of sovereign nations, and the list goes on and on. This group evolved out of the CIA starting in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and was originally led by Allen Dulles.

THE SECRET TEAM by L. Fletcher Prouty tells the story of how this extra-legal clandestine organization was created despite Truman's explicit direction that this sort of capability definitely not be available to the CIA. The CIA developed a huge clandestine force, including aircraft like helicopters, in just a few years and the USA has been at their mercy ever since.

Really!

Have you noticed?

Have you?

[DCBob]

10. Although this was a horrific tragedy, something good might come out of it.

This might cause enough strain between NATO/US and Pakistan to force our leaders to reevaluate the mission in Afghanistan and get out of there sooner than planned.

[legin]

11. What you need

if you are a bunch of sheep who are jumping through hoops at the say so of the u.s. government, is a nice 'tokenistic' event every so often to give the appearance that you are an independent government.

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[dipsydoodle]

13. Nato Admits Air Attack On Pakistani Troops

A spokesman for Nato troops in Afghanistan has admitted that it is "highly likely" coalition aircraft attacked Pakistani troops while hunting insurgents near the border.

"Close air support was called in, in the development of the tactical situation, and it is what highly likely caused the Pakistan casualties," Brigadier General Carsten Jacobson, spokesman for the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) said.

"We are aware that there are Pakistani casualties, we don't know numbers, we don't know the magnitude of the incident," he said.

Up to 28 soldiers died and 14 others were wounded in the strike at checkpoints near the border with Afghanistan, according to reports.

http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16118154

[FarCenter]

14. One way to keep helicopter attacks from happening is to prevent fuel from reaching Afghanistan

The only way into southeast Afghanistan for fuel is through Karachi and by rail and/or road through two passes into Afghanistan.

[AtheistCrusader]

15. I think you underestimate our Air Mobility Command.

They can keep the fuel flowing, if they have to. It just ratchets up the cost, and might slow the volume a bit.

But they will get the fuel in there.

[FarCenter]

16. I think that you underestimate the fuel consumption of NATO forces

Highly mechanized using helicopters and heavily armored troop carrier vehicles everywhere they go. Data centers, communications, and lots of field electronics. Fully heated and air conditioned tents and barracks.

Plus, the fuel into Afghanistan must supply both NATO and civilian needs, not that the civilians get much.

[PurityOfEssence]

18. Yeah, Goring said that about Stalingrad, too...

Many of us have been saying this for years: look at a map; the only way to supply Afghanistan is through Pakistan or through Russia and one or more of the northern stans.

Now we've killed a bunch of their active army; it's not just civilians and pesky rebels now.

Maybe this is what it takes for us to come to our senses and leave.

[Robb]

19. IIRC the bulk of NATO fuel already comes in through "the northern stans" now anyhow.

You may recall Islamabad closed the borders once in reaction to a similar incident; the idle fuel convoys were exceptional targets for militants. NATO shifted its supply lines accordingly, to not leave Pakistan such leverage again.

Edited to add: Looks like about 1/3 of all inbound cargo comes through these routes, a third through the northern routes and a third is flown: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-afghanistan-pakistan-isaftre7ap0gv-20111126,0,2607637.story

[FarCenter]

20. I think that the split is 1/3 arms and ammo, 1/3 supplies to Northwest, and 1/3 supplies Southeast

To protect it from being stolen/diverted, the arms and ammo and military equipment come in by air.

There is a mountain range, the Hindu Kush, running down the middle of the country. "Commercial" supplies for the Northwest areas around Kunduz, Mazar e Sharif, Herat, etc. would come from the "stans". "Commercial" supplies for Kabul and Kandahar in the Southwest would come from the Kyber Pass and Baluchistan provinc of Pakistan.

Getting fuel from the "stans" to Kabul or Kandahar involve a lot of bad road and a long tunnel.

[Robb]

21. Well, it's not like Khyber is known for great roads.

:D

[SixthSense]

17. Did John Pike get transferred so quickly?

I've got a bit of a problem with the whole "depraved indifference to human life" thing

[Blissful Monkey]

22. Has the US said whether this was an accident or if they intended Pakistani troops to be the target?

[Turborama]

23. Pakistan retaliation leaves NATO drivers in limbo

By RIAZ KHAN, Associated Press – 21 mins ago

PESHAWAR, Pakistan – Stranded Pakistani truck drivers carrying fuel and other supplies to U.S.-led troops in Afghanistan said Sunday that they were exposed to attacks by Islamist militants, after Islamabad closed the country's border crossings in retaliation for coalition airstrikes that allegedly killed 24 Pakistani troops.

Suspected militants destroyed around 150 trucks and injured drivers and police a year ago after Pakistan closed one of its Afghan border crossings to NATO supplies for about 10 days in retaliation for a U.S. helicopter attack that accidentally killed two Pakistani soldiers.

The situation could be more dire this time because Pakistan, outraged at the alleged NATO attack before dawn Saturday, has closed both its crossings. Nearly 300 trucks carrying coalition supplies are now backed up at Torkham in the northwest Khyber tribal area and Chaman in southwestern Baluchistan province. Last year, Pakistan only closed Torkham.

"We are worried," said driver Saeed Khan. He spoke by telephone from the border terminal in Torkham. "This area is always vulnerable to attacks. Sometimes rockets are lobbed at us. Sometimes we are targeted by bombs."

Full article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111127/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan