Taliban attacks key supply route

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In the complex triple-carom geopolitics of the crisis in Afghanistan, the Taliban have just given Russia another nudge toward the center of the action. A Taliban attack today (Tuesday, Feb. 3) has taken out a bridge in the Khyber Pass, which is a critical supply route for U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Until recently, 80 percent of all allied supplies for Afghanistan flowed through the mountains of Pakistan, but Taliban attacks have made drivers unwilling to make the trip. Attacks on NATO supply depots in the area took out 300 cargo trucks and Humvees in December alone, forcing the allies to turn for alternative routes to former Soviet clients in Central Asia, where Russia still has interests and influence.

The new U.S. envoy, Richard Holbrooke, has his hands full at the moment dealing with Afghanistan and Pakistan, but as FLYP reports in the current issue, his brief will inevitably include all the powers relevant to the area, including India, Iran, China—and Russia. The historical irony is thick: we armed Osama Bin Laden and his fellow mujahadeen to force the Soviet Union out of Afghanistan, and now Moscow holds the key to the supplies we need to get them out.

Photo by Fahad Pervez/PPI Photo/Newscom