U.S. to Widen Supply Routes in Afghan War

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http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/31/world/asia/31military.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=all

-snip-


The plan to open new paths through Central Asia reflects an American-led effort to seek out a more reliable alternative to the route from Pakistan through the strategic Khyber Pass, which was closed by Pakistani security forces on Tuesday as they began an offensive against militants in the region.

The militants have shown that they can threaten shipments through the pass into Afghanistan, burning cargo trucks and Humvees over recent weeks. More than 80 percent of the supplies for American and allied forces in Afghanistan now flow through Pakistan.

And the demands made on supply routes are expected to increase greatly as heavy materials are moved to Afghanistan to build the structures needed for an expanded American presence.

-snip-

But the new supply arrangements could leave the United States more reliant on cooperation from authoritarian countries like Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, which have poor records on democracy and human rights.

The officials said delicate negotiations were under way not only with the Central Asian states bordering Afghanistan but also with Russia, to work out the details of new supply routes. The talks show the continued importance of American and NATO cooperation with the Kremlin, despite lingering tension over the war between Russia and Georgia in August.
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on and on it goes

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1. words to note: to build the structures needed for an expanded American presence.

Iraq has been trashed. now its Afghanistan's turn?


will Laura make sure the women and children are kept out of this man's war?

the women of the world should think about our sisters in Afghanistan, whose lives are already hell.

(I know, I know, women's lives are hell lots of places)