NATO Bypassing Pakistan for Logistics

In an attempt to cut their dependence on the volatile "protection" of Pakistan and their locals, NATO is opening the northern supply route to Afghanistan via Russia.

NATO has opened an alternate supply route to Afghanistan via Russia and central Asia — a critical development that gives it the ability to bypass the previous ambush-prone main routes through Pakistan, the alliance said Friday.

Until now, most supplies destined for the 140,000-strong international force in Afghanistan were shipped to the Pakistani port of Karachi, and then trucked to the landlocked nation. But with the Taliban and their sympathizers targeting the convoys, military planners sought other alternatives.

"We will take advantage of all transport routes available as soon as possible," NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said.

The development is important because it signals Russian willingness to indirectly support the NATO-led mission. Moscow has been warmer to the mission's success in recent years, fearing that a NATO defeat in Afghanistan could destabilize central Asia and endanger Russia's security.

By: Brant