U.S. battles for supplies as convoy attacks increase
Peshawar, Pakistan (CNN) — A photo album. A personal letter. A bravery reward for a U.S. Army captain. All were intended for U.S. service members stationed in Afghanistan, but instead are for sale in a Peshawar market.
The Pakistani market, close to the border with Afghanistan, is fabled for selling goods looted from U.S. military resupply convoys that pass through.
Because Afghanistan is landlocked, more than half of all U.S. supplies pass through Pakistan, a route hundreds of miles long through tribal badlands. And the route is coming under increasing attack.
The Taliban know by attacking trucks they can drive up the cost of the war. For the past few years, the cost of resupply convoys has been rising.
Even the main highways are becoming more dangerous. The largest recent attack came just outside the relatively secure capital, Islamabad. More than 80 vehicles were destroyed, including armored military hardware labeled for the U.S. Afghan surge or troops. As with all convoys, there were no U.S. forces and no security guards.
According to witnesses, it took just 12 gunmen a matter of a few minutes to turn a massive resupply mission into a mass of charred, twisted and useless wreckage.
One Pakistani trucker on the convoy who was shot in the attack told us he was lucky to be alive and that he won't be driving U.S. supplies again.
After the attack, the Taliban handed out fliers threatening drivers with death if they worked such a convoy again.
"A greedy person may work for double the pay," Ubaid Ullah Anwar tells CNN through an interpreter. "But it's like committing suicide and I won't do it."
At the port city of Karachi where some U.S. supplies come ashore, containers are stacking up, many because more and more contractors say they won't touch them.
All American soldiers can do is pick on weak countries who are defenseless.
How heroic is that? Beating up women and children and villagers who can't fight back.
Why not try picking a fight with someone who can actually strike you back?
You'll have to start importing body bags by the thousands!
Interesting topic!
1.: Supply from the North is possible (via ex-Soviets) and military would be allowed to convoy. (Pakistan would not allow American troops to drive on the highways with the guns ready to go)
2. I agree with some other poster: Supply from the North would cause more military casualties, as you would have to go through ambush easy mountains and my experience with dushmans (Afghani resistance), they are very good at this task.
3. As it often happens, US created the monster they can't control anymore and which turned against them: in late 1970s, early 1980 millions of US taxpayers money went to Pakistan located Islamic militarily camps: US "advisers" were teaching poor Muslims from all over the Middle East how to fight "aggressors", Soviets, in the name of Allah! They supplied just Russian made weapons at first, to hide their involvement, but, when hundred thousands newly created troops could not succeed in taking down "Russian bear", they flooded the mountains with latest american "stingers", hand held land to air heat seeking missiles, and changed the flow of the war. When Russians left, Americans did not rely-zed that they just left the country with Millions people who knew nothing but how to fight. Democracy was there in Afghanistan in 1980s: kids were going to schools, women worked and held high positions, First democratic elections were run "under soviet power".
But all was lost: Taliban was deemed by US as the most stable power and they were allowed and helped to secure the country.
My advise to American Government: Leave this country alone: their people are very proud and will never allow "guests", who they treat like kings for a short visit, to overstate their welcome.
Yes, when you leave, there will be civil (tribal) wars: It would take decades for this country to figure things out, but people would feel free from invasion.
15,000 Russian boys did not come home to their mothers from 1979-89 war. Almost 1,900 American and Canadian boys came home in the zinc boxes since 2001. Let's it stop now!
🙂 Shuravee govorish...:) Funny...
To be honest, Pakistanis are opportunists, they know they are broke, the only way is to act as if they are helping the US and loot money, from US. Do not TRUST pakis, Their government, their military all are terrorists. Stop helping them.
Well Muslim religion teaches them to loyal only to the religion, not even to their own parents or blood. so Yes they keep killing one another. Its not USA's mess. If you want to stop terrorism, act how US acted during the cold war. Superb intelligence, and wipe out the culprits. US should bring its troops back and secure its internal system. Keep a tight watch on all the Muslims who are in USA, chuck all the pakis who are staying in USA, they are all potential threat. Because remember they are loyal only to their religion. They would betray any one.
And stop saying you Americans went to Afghan and Iraq to save the women and build schools...that is such an old lie. It's so dumb.
You are there to hog the oil patches and other precious resources they have.
United States BP oil spill is just the beginning of Karma knocking at your doors
Well, lets think of it this way. Everyone has their time at the top. History tells us they ones at the top always come back down. There has been no exception.
When America falls, it'll be an interesting sight. In my opinion, one big Earthquake in California will trigger their first step to collapse.
You INVADE a country. You kill their people and act like their Masters.
The World is disgusted with the USA, but they tolerate you because you still have a pretty penny.
We are preaching to the choir!
Our officers are cashiered if they tell the truth among themselves, exposed by reporters ' embedded' in the name of freedom of the press, to spread fear of any dissent.,while a mosque is being on the site of 9/11!
This is naked stalinism, protecting a policy of political correctness,betraying our troops .propping up a corrupt regime.
Replace this fraud of a president and congress,stop pretending to stop terrorism over there ,and fight it here..
CONSTRUCTIVELY DISENGAGE.
Revise the waste of our treasure in men and material.let the europeans do the same ,and let the Muslims sort it out among themselves.If Pakistan did not have the bomb , this would all have been done a long time ago.
Funny, do you really think Pakistan will allow US troops on their land?
Will never happen!
Pick another country to get in from or air lift it!
Geniuses at work, stay clear!
So sad that our military personnel have to go through this! Enough of this war and bring our men and women home! It's awful what they have to endure there and now they have to do without supplies, letters or personal mementos from their loved ones! I pray for all of the service men and woman overseas.....my hope and prayer is that you will all be home soon safely on American Soil! Thank you for my freedom and protection! I wish I could bring you all home today!!
All of this debate is pointless..The best thing to do is pull our troops out and nuke Afghanistan. If Pakiistan is so close to their Muslim brothers nuke them to, or wipe out their miltary and let India move in and obliterate them. I am sure being brothers to Afghanistan they would be happy to share the same fate. I would nuke Iraq but the oil is more precious then the people so just round them up and exterminate them. The Muslim/terrorist situation is best solved with a bullet...preferably one dipped in pig blood...
Military containers with equipment get hijacked all the time. I'm in a medical HQ and when any of our units deploy and we ship their equipment, we avoid putting the word medical on the containers because it's an almost an automatic hijack waiting to happen.
The world is a complicated place. Filled with war, death, poverty, and greed. Humans are failed creatures. Always will be. Cops, politicians, terrorists, teachers, religious figures, sports figures. It doesn't matter. Humans are capable of horrible things. Good people will always try to irradicate bad. It will never be accomplished though. The more I learn of the conflicts in Central Asia the more hopeless it seems. The US is certianly a third world nation in terms of its understanding and knowledge of the world around it. Most people that check CNN and read articles here know to some degree events happening outside are borders. But the majority don't care. Blame can be put on everyone: Bush, Obama, USSR, Clinton, Israel, Pakistani influence, India, poppy fields, education, religion, extremism. It's all to blame. Humans are to blame. This stuff makes me depressed. I read these comments and feel the deep flaws of human kind. We'll destroy ourselves someday.
Back when the United States had a backbone, the military was able to keep West Berlin supplied with round the clock air transport. And that was with WWII bombers and transport planes. There is no reason why our Air Force cannot completely resupply the main air base in Afghanistan. I have personally seen the size of some of their resupply aircraft and it can be done. I'm also in agreement that it is a stupid policy to have fully staffed divisions in places like Germany and Korea while we are fighting a losing battle in Afghanistan. Everytime I turn around I see a news report where these dark aged nutty Taliban are thwarting us at every possible step.
What a tangled web we weave. I do not think there is a chance that we will ever succeed in South-Central Asia-Afghanistan. Values have become so eroded, and greed is so prevalent that there is no clear goal nor victory for either side. It's just a "free for all". Our Soldiers are "Givin' em Hell" though.
Mail to soldiers is being "looted or delayed" here in Ft. Dix, NJ as well as Afghanistan. When I reported a 5 month delay or in my son's case, my mail to him was returned as "undeliverable" while he was still there awaiting deployment to Iraq?
yeah this is the country that we are trying to fix?
You can not fix Stupid !
I smile to see someone describe Afghanistan as a once civilized country. It never was. Throughout all time it has merely been bandits surrounding a few cities. Nothing has changed in perhaps 55,000 years. To read a list of empires and cultures from that area is to read a list of usurpers, invaders, raiders, brigands, defilers, dictators, and nomads. To expect it to have changed, or to be able to change, when there is no incentive to do so, is utter stupidity. There is not, and has never been a solid civil authority. Authority has always stopped at the city gates. Now we are there with too few troops to make a difference (because only 1 in 9 are combat troops), locking ourselves up in castles at night like crusaders, controlling only the area within the range of our guns. What the hell did we expect? I've heard people in the Army say that amateurs talk about tactics, while professionals discuss logistics. Supply lines are a logistics factor; fail to protect them and you have failed, period. We have a president who does not understand even the most basic concepts of military force, a military leadership consisting either of mindless sycophants or those who are dismissed when they say something truthful that their superiors do not want to hear, a congress that does not understand the options of fighting there versus fighting here, and a populous who are at best fickle and quick to forget, at worst little more than sheep waiting for their welfare checks and requiring radio show hosts to tell them what to think. And here's another little reminder of our past idiocy: we could have prevented this whole situation had we acted rapidly after the soviet retreat. Charlie Wilson was right.
Charlie Wilson was absolutely right. The U.S. supplied weapons to fight to soviets, but then walked away to let an even more evil and barbaric force come in and take over in Afghanistan. Makes you wonder if the U.S. is not in Afghanistan out of guild because we were wrong then.
Why aren't we air dropping the supplies instead?
You know I was thinking about that, why not? Then I remembered what I had mentioned somewhere else on this topic. War is a business and there is money to be made. Having suppies dropped to our troops will take away from the contractors, we cant let that happen now can we?
As a stated to someone else, US contractors don't hold these contracts, local businesses do. This keeps the local economy running and workers from building bombs used against US soldiers.
But, I agree we should have them flown in instead.
My husband is in Afghanistan. One of his unit’s convoys was also robbed. The robbers smashed the bottom out and took about 95% of the items within it. When I asked him how this happened... why there were not troops guarding the supplies? He said unfortunately the government outsources to the lowest bidder to save on costs so the convoys are not well guarded or protected. What I want to know is how much it is costing the government to replace/pay for all the stolen items (some of them NOT replaceable) versus how much money they are saving on outsourcing to the lowest bidder. Doesn't seem cost effective to me.
Nicole,
The military is not going to replace anything. In addition your husband was incorrect. They don't outsource, they create jobs by letting locals bid on contracts. Keeping locals employed keeps them from building bombs. What most people don't understand is that a large portion of extremists are in it for the money. In addition, we get labor for cheaper which keeps the cost of the war down. I would think tax payers would be happy about this since they're always complaining about the cost of war.
US troops should raid those market's and shut them down then that might stop the thieves from stealing stuff who would they sell stuff too if there is no market.
Never join the military. Low pay, come back with your bal*s blown off, Republicans cut your VA benefits.
This is not good.Our supplies must get through.If not,how are we to defeat Islam the way Obama wants us to?
Let's send them a few more billion dollars and maybe they will stop.
this same thing would happen if all that money actually got to Haiti that was promised by other countries. All of it would be stolen by blacks in the US and elsewhere if any foreign country honored that pledge that they made to Clinton...those countries have brains that renegged on this offer of aid...they need to forget wasting time trying to get money to where it is supposed to do some help...it will never get there!
Hey PEOPLE there is a bigger issue at stake here! Personal information about American troops is falling into the hands of terrorists. This information will put both troops as well as their families at risk. I cannot overstate the importance of this. I.E. "we know where you live, and we don't want anyone to get hurt, unless you ............"
Very true.
the US troops sould raid those market's.
Amen. I wish we could.
It's amazing to see how many times someone got bashed in all the comments posted. It sure does show true human nature. There is always someone thinking they are right and someone else always thinking they are wrong. And we wonder why there are always wars.
The only weapons that work with the Ragheads is chemical weapons... Sadam was ruthless.. but he wasn't a fool. With Chemical weapons... this war in Afghanistan ... and the cesspool known as Pakistan is over in 1 month. Don't worry about rebuilding anything... kill everything... make this the worlds nuclear dump.
USA and India must invade Pakistan. Pakistan is the source of the problems of Afganistan. Pakistan is part of India.
I understand why we are there- but this is enough- just get out and use the money and people and armour to bee up our borders and air safety. Just let them spin in. When we leave they will all be moaning about how we didn't do enough for them.
One point that's somewhat unclear in this report: What are Pakistani authorities doing when they see or it is reported to them that obviously looted items are being sold in broad daylight in a street market in Pakistan? I suspect they don't do anything because – at least privately – they are happy to see America fail.
Has anyone seen lately the amount of “outsourcing” OUR government is doing in OUR military? It’s disgusting the amount of risk OUR troops are put in just so private contractors can increase profit by not paying American wages. And to the people of Afghanistan I say if the majority of them don’t want us there, then lets respect their rights of democracy and leave them to the taliban! I think OUR government is forgetting that democracy is not just for the American people. Just because we “feel” the Taliban “could” be a threat doesn’t give OUR government the right to force the people of other countries to accept our wishes to destroy them. After all has anyone heard the majority of the Afgans begging us to stay and fight for their county? NO! In fact has any poles been taken to hear what the people of that country want us to do for them? NO! OUR government cares not for anything but it’s own short oil soaked sightedness. It’s time for We The People to take control of OUR runaway government. We need a no confidence vote put on every ballot. This will ensure they all have to listen to us or we will vote them ALL out of office! We The People of this country have a much greater reasonability to control our government. We are a world power. And we must force more of the peoples will into the White House. World piece depends on us, We The People!
Here's the thing Tom, we provide job OPPORTUNITIES to these people. We don't make them do it. Also, we're in Afghanistan to ensure these training camps don't pop up again and launch another attack on the US. They WILL feel the full force of US power and God help anyone who tries to deny us our God given rights. When we have created a stable government we will leave and not before then. Start supporting your troops or move to Switzerland.
My grandfather was a supply waggoner for US Army in WWI. The military always escorted the supplies to prevent attacks.
Times may have changed but the principle is still the same. If the military wants supplies, then they are going to have to escort to prevent looting. This is not a "contractable" part of business dealings.
The Military escorts supplies in Iraq. You know why? The Iraqi government lets them. We are not welcome in Pakistan or we'd have a base there from which to ship supplies. As a vet I am offended that you would basically call our soldiers lazy. There is plenty to be done and not enough hands to do it. Maybe you should volunteer to drive the trucks.
For those of you who think you have it all figured out, I would like to say that I am a US Army Veteran and you all need to think again. I was in Kashmir as translator and have served in Iraq twice. There is far more to the picture than anyone is led to believe. Common Sense is right to a great degree. When a nation who has no hope and has suffered so much can only harbor hatred unless shown or taught otherwise. This is human nature and even great deal of educated Americans can't escape this. Peace means compromise and determination to stay the course and not give in to temptation. Pakistan has been engulfed with its own issues for a long time. I am a former Pakistani. Try to understand what the truth is but know that you can't comprehend it in just a month or a year. Our troops suffer and it is not fair to the families and friend's who try to support them. Army is a complete mess when it comes to organization. I spent six years as a soldier and trust me when I say this that reliability from Uncle Sam is wishful thinking. Ask any veteran and they will tell you that it is true.
Stop hating and blaming this person or that. If it is such a big problem then unite and take to the streets. Pressure Washington and let them know that our issues need to be taken care of. Trust me this will be the only way to get the US Army to consider other options which ARE available. I hope this helps out a little bit. If not then just continue to vent my friends 🙂
This supply problem must have been completely foreseen, or else our military leaders are idiots. And the problem will continue so long as each Taliban fights with $100 worth of weapons and ammo plus one donkey, while the US military has to have over $100,000 per soldier in weapons, equipment, technical and repair support, bases, etc. The idea that we can "pacify" a bunch of 14th century fanatics simply by spending 1,000 times more is just lunacy. If your kids or grandkids can't afford to go to college, one reason could be all the money we're throwing down the toilets of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Who said a land war in Asia was a bad idea?
Vizini.......but only slightly less well-known is this: "Never go against a Sicilian when death is on the line"! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha...
OK, why are we playing baby games. We can end this in a couple of shots if we wanted to. Warn the Taliban, "Stop and lay down or else". Then when they don't then tactically nuke one of their towns. Then reinstruct them "lay down or else" I bet it only takes twice.
You would think that a professional military would know as much as to protect it's own supply line. They are trying to reduce expenses to the extent that only one man out of two would get a rifle- ak-47 mind you, the m's are to expensive- and the other a dozen bullets to use when the first kicks the bucket. I wonder who was the tactician that decided to send unguarded convoys through an instable tribal area in center Asia. If the taliban decided to up the level a bit the US will have to retreat even sooner than planned, becuse they's be completly defeated. Truly embarrasing
Let's get the hell out of this corrupt cesspool!
Why does the "moderator" keep rejecting my suggestion to fill some trucks with explosives and let them be stolen a little before the timer goes off?
To me: Yes, I see my other posts. They were very slow getting on and is why I was repeating them thinking they were being rejected. Sorry.
because CitizenUSA, as we can see, Pakistan is an independent country. The hijacking is happening in Pakistan, before the trucks get to Afghanistan. We need Pakistan on our side. And just who would load the trucks with explosives? The trucks are locally supplied and loaded at the docks in Karachi.
There are not enough large aircraft to fly in the needed supplies. Impossible.
Repeat, there is no military solution to this war. Afghanistan belongs to the Afghans. Pakistan belongs to the Pakistanis. Only a political solution will work in the end.
They are not holding us hostage. They are scared of what the Taliban and terrorists groups like the Taliban will do to them once we leave. The scene will be reminiscent of Vietnam after we left where thousands of South Vietnamese and supporters of Freedom from the Communists were rounded up and murdered while the U.S. left behind the fight that it was winning just so a President could win the popular war at home in the Oval Office. We will not be leaving the Middle East until only one Taliban remains.
Let 'em steal a few trucks loaded with bombs, sit back and watch the fireworks.
We kicked their asses , time to leave. Us Military should not be a peace force, leave that to the UN.
Why, don't we load up a convoy of trucks with bombs, let them be stolen, then flip the switch.
Maybe – WeNeedTO JustNukeEM before they get around to NukingUSFirst!
First, let's bomb the market. That'll discourage people from buying looted goods. Second, let's booby-trap the convoys so that if you don't have the combination, the loot blows up in your face. Third, let's better protect our convoys in the first place.
Bring 'em home. Now.
Before leaving comments on this article, some of you should consult a map and review military policy for the past three years. The US has been trying to establish an alternate access road for a Long time, from the north. Afghanistan is land-locked. The only way in except by air is through Pakistan, Iran, and the " -Stan" countries to the north, all independend difficult places, all former Russian satellite countries, and all separated by high mountains (think K2). Pakistan is an independent country. We can't just charge in there and set up an American-manned convoy from the docks into Afghanistan! Total fantasy! If you think the convoy attacks are bad now, wait until you have 500 trucks / week with American drivers trying to navigate Khyber Pass! This is exactly what got the Russians killed in Afghanistan. We use contractors so as to provide jobs (and get some buy-in) from Pakistanis.
This is just another unfortunately cost of conducting this war. If we want to continue this war, this will be an on-going situation to be managed.
United states is doing a blunder mistake by helping Pakistan with billions of dollars to fight the Taliban.But what is happening? Pakistan's ISI is openly supporting Taliban.Then what ever America doing good for Pakistan is like throwing money in the trash.America has to find any other way to tackle the Afgan Issue.
WE ARE THROWING AWAY OUR MONEY. PERIOD I MARRIED A MUSLIM AND I AM ATHEIST. NO MATTER HOW MUCH MONEY YOU THROW AT THESE AFGHANS IT WILL NEVER CHANGE THEIR CULTURE. NEVER. IF OBAMA WANTS TO THROW OUR NATIONAL WEALTH AWAY IT WOULD BE EASIER TO BURN IT. AT LEAST NO AMERICANS WOULD LOOSE THEIR LIVES. WHAT THIS WAR IS DOING IS BUILDING UP A NATION THAT WILL BE EXACTLY THE SAME IN ITS IDEOLOGY WHEN WE CANNOT AFFORD IT ANYMORE. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS WE WILL HAVE MADE THESE AFGHANS A LITTLE MORE WAR SAVY AND THEY WILL HAVE SOME MUCH BETTER INFRASTRUCTURE THANKS TO OUR OPEN WALLETS. IF WE WANT TO BE SECURE WE NEED TO LEAVE MUSLIM COUNTRIES ALONE. STAY OUT OF THEIR BUSINESS. STOP TRYING TO MAKE OUR ECONOMY A INTERNATIONAL ONE AND INVEST HARD IN TECHNOLOGY TO CHECK INCOMING CONTAINERS FROM SHIPPING. WE CANNOT CHANGE THE MIND SET OF OTHER CULTURES PERIOD! THESE PEOPLE LIVE LIKE THEY LIVE BECAUSE OF A IDEOLOGY MIRED IN A RELIGIOUS FABLE. NO MATTER HOW BAD WE WANT JUSTICE AND DEMOCRACY FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD WE CANNOT DELIVER THEM TO THAT END. THEY MUST EVOLVE. THE ONLY THING WE COULD HAVE DONE PROPERLY IN AFGHANISTAN IS HELP THEM IF THEY REQUEST OUR HELP IF THEY ARE BEING BESIEGED. WHICH WE DID WHEN WE RAN OUT THE TALIBAN. AND WE COULD HAVE COME TO THEIR AID AGAIN IF NECCESARY. BUT TRYING TO BRING ABOUT AN IDEOLOGICAL CHANGE WILL NEVER BE POSSIBLE. A GROUP DOES THAT IF AND WHEN THEY DECIDE TOO AND THEY DO THAT IN THEIR OWN WAY. LIKE AMERICA DID WHEN IT BROKE FROM BRITISH IDEOLOGY AND WENT ABOUT FORMING WHAT TODAY IS OUR AMERICAN IDEOLOGY.
Pakistan has history of back stabbing anyway, America wake up! Pakistan has always sucked money out of us, in return they had showed some Taliban leaders been killed, but who knows, I bet anything, those were killed were their own citizens and bribed the family with some money to keep quite. No wonder Pakistan can not survive as Democratic nation since they had independence from India, they will never survive, most of their politicians are corrupt...wake up America...
Where is the air support...drones, attack helicopters, fighters?
If we want to avoid the looting, get the hell out of foreign land.
"Bush's war"??? "Obama's war"??? Was anybody here older than 5 on 9/11/2001? A-stan was OUR war! AQ was based in A-stan and protected by the Taliban and we and the rest of the world, the civilized world, demanded they give up Osama & Co. and they refused. We gave them several chances and then finally we went in knocked them both over. Just a history lesson.
Actually the war in Afghanistan is MIC's war,that is they want us to think that it's our war so they can continue it indefinately in order to generate more profits for the war profiteers and elect more right-thugs into office.
To the people who say, "Why aren't we using our forces to transport our supplies" Isn't that pretty obvious why we are not? They are driving the supplies through Pakistan. Pakistan isn't going to allow us to drive our military vehicles through their nation.
If the Pakistanian government doesn't step in and secure their country, I think that the US might need to step in to some more. Its either win a war, or get cought with our pants down
Time to get the weak-kneed sissies from Halliburton out of the convoy business.
You cannot possibly argue the business side of this as being bad! I get paid to build an armored vehicle, I get paid to ship it to the port, I get paid to truck it into the country. It gets torched along the way. ... I get paid to build an armored vehicle, I get paid to ship it to the port, I get paid to truck in into the country. It gets torched along the way. .. I get paid to build...
What must really frustrate them is that eventually this business model will end.
what ever happened to the common since of creating and protecting military supply lines i didnt graduate from west point but i do know that if your supply line is vunerable your troops are, so all im saying is someone needs to pull their head out of their butt and fix this so we can finish the job over there besides i wonder how many of these truck drivers tell the taliwhackers when the next convoy will be pulling out and where its headed and all other sorts of gleaned info that could potentially hurt us. because we all know we can really trust these people
WE ARE THROWING AWAY OUR MONEY. PERIOD I MARRIED A MUSLIM AND I AM ATHEIST. NO MATTER HOW MUCH MONEY YOU THROW AT THESE AFGHANS IT WILL NEVER CHANGE THEIR CULTURE. NEVER. IF OBAMA WANTS TO THROW OUR NATIONAL WEALTH AWAY IT WOULD BE EASIER TO BURN IT. AT LEAST NO AMERICANS WOULD LOOSE THEIR LIVES. WHAT THIS WAR IS DOING IS BUILDING UP A NATION THAT WILL BE EXACTLY THE SAME IN ITS IDIOLOGY WHEN WE CANNOT AFFORD IT ANYMORE. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS WE WILL HAVE MADE THESE AFGHANS A LITTLE MORE WAR SAVY AND THEY WILL HAVE SOME MUCH BETTER INFRASTRUCTURE THANKS TO OUR OPEN WALLETS. IF WE WANT TO BE SECURE WE NEED TO LEAVE MUSLIM COUNTRIES ALONE. STAY OUT OF THEIR BUSINESS. STOP TRYING TO MAKE OUR ECONOMY A INTERNATIONAL ONE AND INVEST HARD IN TECHNOLOGY TO CHECK INCOMING CONTAINERS FROM SHIPPING. WE CANNOT CHANGE THE MIND SET OF OTHER CULTURES PERIOD! THESE PEOPLE LIVE LIKE THEY LIVE BECAUSE OF A IDEOLOGY MIRED IN A RELIGIOUS FABLE. NO MATTER HOW BAD WE WANT JUSTICE AND DEMOCRACY FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD WE CANNOT DELIVER THEM TO THAT END. THEY MUST EVOLVE. THE ONLY THING WE COULD HAVE DONE PROPERLY IN AFGHANISTAN IS HELP THEM IF THEY REQUEST OUR HELP IF THEY ARE BEING BESIEGED. WHICH WE DID WHEN WE RAN OUT THE TALIBAN. AND WE COULD HAVE COME TO THEIR AID AGAIN IF NECCESARY. BUT TRYING TO BRING ABOUT AN IDEOLOGICAL CHANGE WILL NEVER BE POSSIBLE. A GROUP DOES THAT IF AND WHEN THEY DECIDE TOO AND THEY DO THAT IN THEIR OWN WAY. LIKE AMERICA DID WHEN IT BROKE FROM BRITISH IDEOLOGY AND WENT ABOUT FORMING WHAT TODAY IS OUR AMERICAN IDEOLOGY.
Well Said
Whenever great amounts of American money are being clearly wasted and no one seems able to stop it, look to the American Congress; you'll find that some of the very powerful thugs of the Congress are making a lot of money robbing our treasury and killing our children!
im just waiting for the day we nuke the hell out of everyone on that side of the planet plz. oh plz.
This is what we get for hiring out to private contractors and corporations for services our military used to take care of on it's own back when it was self reliant.
You can completely turnaround Sue's statement. It's kind of funny.. you can do it like this:
Are you serious? You can thank your buddy Clinton for getting us INTO Afghanistan by being soft on terror in the first place. How is Pakistani looting the President's fault? Honestly, you left-wing nutjobs would blame Bush if a meteor hit the Earth. Give it a rest, stop whining, and do something more productive than bellyaching.
Bring our sons and daughters, brothers and sisters and friends home!
I agree, just bring them home this have gone on long enough and enough lives have been lost!
When will those in charge take the handcuffs off of our troops? Have we as a nation forgot what 'war' means? Market with US supplies? How about an armed military repossesion? These things are happening because they can. Does anyone remember 'shock and awe?' Extremely effective because our military was unleased and able to prove its might. Once that happened we all remember Iraqi soldiers (the very same ones that swore they would die in battle against the US) walking out in the desert with white flags. A similar campaign is long overdue in Afghanistan. Now if only we had a Commander in Chief with the courage (read lack of political pandering) to do it. Haven't seen that in 18 years.
There are some nice Pakistani people but there are some nice flies too. Just flatten them. Problem solved.
John
Ontario, Canada
yes you have just summed up how the US has treated pakistan over the last 60 years.
Use them when it serves our purpose and discard them when we dont need them.
pakistan is once bitten twice shy.
Pull our troops out from Afghanistan. There will never be any peace in that area because of their tribal nature. Instead, take armed drones and let them do the work. I just don't care about Afghanistan and Pakistan at all. Let's use our technology and make them die for Allah. Oh, by the way, tell our Army generals that you can't win a land war over there and Americans should not die so Afghani women can go to school.
Why do we even care if Afghan women go to school? It's part of a socialist plot to destroy the Afghans once and for all times. Haven't you noticed how it has been all down hill since women got the right to vote here! The mommy state? take care of all, no more hurt feelings, free stuff for all! ha,ha,ha,. Education will bring em down once and for all.
to Impeach Obama: I dislike Obama and his politics, but you are an idiot. Do the thinking world a favor and blow yourself up.
Sending 'armored military hardware' without a military escort? Stupid, to say the least....
"As with all convoys, there were no U.S. forces and no security guards." Say what???? What kind of IDIOTS are running this operation anyhow? Why not just paint some target signs on the vehicles that say "come and get me!"?? Geez.
wish we would get the dickens out of there already...nothing is really being solved..
more of our boys are getting killed daily it now seems...
let the entire country kill themselves...you can't fix that mess.
just wondering how much longer this war will go on before we pull out of there all together???????????
Obviously, it's too much of a risk/loss to continue to send goods when US units cannot guarantee their safe arrival/delivery. While people love supporting the troops with material items, perhaps greater internet access and emails/Skype from the US could replace material goods and save dramatically on shipping...
End the War, and Bomb Pakistan on the way out!
So thats how you treat an Ally who has helped us in this war? Lets bomb Pakistan on the way out and make sure that no nation in the future helps us in a similar situation.
Why don't we go through Russia instead, they did offer... oh, wait, we're too busy catching their imaginary spies to maintain solid supply lines through a reliable ally!
Shoot the shop-owners. Better yet, nuke Pakistan, they are not our friends....
You are one sick person... Pakistan is on Our side!!
At the end of the day, you just have to tip your cap to the Taliban. This is war strategy, you cant be angry at them – only angry at our own military for not waking up and finding a new route.
I'll NEVER "tip my hat" to the Taliban! They are ruthless criminals. Why should they be praised for anything? REALLY?!
In the same way that the founding fathers were criminals (sort of)
Point is, you have to be a good enough person to respect all peoples, even if they are tourturing you, you have to look up and go, hey, this guy LIVES here, i only have to die here.
What are you saying? Last time I checked our war wasn't with Pakistan. We're not in Pakistan, we're in Afghanistan hunting terrorists, educating women and building an economy.
This is sickening to hear. Who would want to buy someone's photo albums and family letters anyway? This is really sad.
I don't understand why we are still using civilian contractors to bring supplies to OUR military, especially if these convoys are the target of military attacks. And as far as the stolen goods being sold openly in Pakistani markets, there obviously needs to be prosecution and apprehension there, with limited sentences if the suspects can provide information on the Taliban in the area. The fact that 12 Taliban gunmen are not afraid to attack a convoy of 80 vehicles, because they have NO U.S. protection, and the the fact that Pakistani civilians are not afraid to sell what are obviously the possessions, both personal and professional, of United States soldiers is disgraceful. And the truth is, I can't blame either of those parties for it. They are taking advantage of our weakness, and it is our prerogative to eliminate that tactical oversight. Set up a counter ambush, where those 80 vehicles have fully armed soldiers rather than boxes of food. Have helicopter gunship support behind the next ridge, ready to cut off the retreat of the enemy. Use the information taken from arrested shop keepers to locate enemy camps, or set another ambush under the guise of a transaction between them and the Taliban.
Because it is cheaper than using Our Army to do it!!!
Just goes to prove the real enemy lives in Pakistan. Nothing will change until we're allowed to go in there and root them out.
WHoever think that we should attack Pakistan are really sleeping away from reality.
Pakistan is not Iraq or Afghanistan. Pakistan is a population of 180 Million people. It has 4000 Tanks, and 800 Aircrafts and 650,000 Active forces. If we desire to attack Pakistan we would need three times as many soldiers we did in Iraq at least (around 300,000 to 400,000), yet still we have no hope of winning the war against them. We can never sustain Pakistan.
So keep dreaming! Pakistan is our ally, they did fight and are fighting insurgents. They lost 2,500 soldiers fighting the Taliban, which is more sacrifice than us!
and also only muslim country with nuclear capabilities, pakistan can wipe out natoand america in afghanistan and middleeast with a push of a button
King Kong, you completely forgot to mention that all the 4000 tanks, fighter planes and other military equipment is given by US itself. So, both sides will have similar weapons. US cannot afford to attack Pakis or even think about stopping funding them. Its a real catch 22.
We don't want to... All we want is to get it so that the Tarriest won't be in the Regent anymore!!!
Perhaps an armoured convoy wouldn't be bad, now would it?
Yes it would be, but on American soil. Pakistan is not American soil. And you got to play by the rules Pakistan sets for you on their territory. Tough luck.
Lol Pakistan. I'm sure they're laughing their tails off at all the money the US throws at them, while they loot, kill US soldiers and train terrorists.
actually the US owes pakistan $2 billion in transit costs, i like your people and your country (disagree with a lot of your governments policies though) however how far are you going to push the friendship thing specially when you allowing the indians to operate from afghanistan. PAY UP
nobody is laughing! people are dying in Pakistan because of all this. Although It does seem that Pakistan will have the last laugh, if you think Pakistan is acting strange or it shouldnt be doing what it is! well then you should know that India is operating under US shadow from Afghanistan, and Paksitan just made re-adjustments due to that. Dont blame them, they will first look after their own interest
Sounds like the time to implement a Trojan horse convoy with GPS tracking and hidden remotely-controlled bombs. Make the convoys look so valuable that they them take it back to their village. Blow them up once they arrive in the village. It will definitely make those who attack the convoys think twice.
I'm willing to bet they've alredy done that, and the taliban has adjusted – resorting just to "blowing it up" themselves, the point isnt to profit off of this stuff – its to force the US military to spend, spend and spend until we cant afford this war anymore. They are not as stupid as the average american...especially considering Al Qaeda's stated mission right after 9/11 was to FINANCIALLY AND MILITARILY BANKRUPT THE US. Id have to say, they are doing a better job at this war than we are.
I like the idea of the trojan horse with a bomb. hahaha I totally agree that they the terrorists would think twice.
They feel with that once... I doubt it would work again!!! But who knows as stupid as they are...
How STUPID, we just let them have what whey want>>> Unchallenged supplies.. I know of military and Government Stupidity but this really is over the top.
That is the American Way... Thanks to the Republicans...
@Impeach Obama. Really. He's to blame? What have you done to help alleviate either situation. Good Grief, the anonymous complaints of Americans based on the paid opinions of Television's talking heads become more outlandish with each passing day. I'm not a huge fan of Obama, but I fail to see what, if anything, he's done illegal. I also find it hard to blame a single politician for the long standing cost cutting, loop hole finding, pay-offing, safety limiting, practices of a multi-billion dollar International Corporation. They're all to blame, ourselves as well.
well said.
Very well said. Two other points to mention – 1) All the TV, Radio guys who blame everything on Obama are either millionaries or close who only want money and dont care about anybody and 2) Bush had 8 years to screw the nation and Repubs and their cronies want Obama to settle everything Yestarday. Do they even understand all the problems Obama is facing and still fighting. I am not a fan of Obama, but i respect him and believe that he deserved the Noble price for what he is trying to get accomplished.
Wait, what? He got a Nobel prize for TRYING to accomplish something?!? Since when do you get a prize for trying to do something? That's like giving the first place medal to someone for trying to come in first, before the race is even over! I'm so sick and tired of everyone praising Obama for trying to do things. What has he actually accomplished other than forcing a healthcare bill that this country cannot afford and dumping money into the HAMP and TARP program bulls$%t. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that our current situation is his fault, but the retarded and asinine attempts at recovery that are going to further cripple our country and economy ARE his fault!
Here's an idea, stop spending money and giving money to people who lack the financial sense to appropriately manage their money and use that money to instead create jobs. We wouldn't need all these bailout programs if we just put people to work.
Both parties are just as corrupt and both parties have lost sight of what this country truly stands for and fights for. I'm embarrassed to align myself with any political party. All they do is twist words and events in order to further their own agendas.
So, we currently have Socialist Party "A" (Democrat) and Socialist Party "B" (Republican). Once elected, they will both vote and act to preserve their power at the expense of our rights and freedom. The difference is the nature of the lies they promulgate in order to get your vote. God Help Us. We now have the leadership deserved by a mindless, forgetful, mob.
come to think of it-since everyone is blaming bush-don't forget it was clinton's deregulation that came home to roost under bush. try blaming pelosi for once, since the meltdown occured while she controlled congress
I think you may have your parties mixed up a bit here! Republicans wanted and continue to want deregulation. It results in a smaller Government. Hence less spending. Democrats like regulations and larger Government. Just saying....
Sorry bud-read your history-more deregulation occured under clinton. for example-did you forget the commodities moderization act that clinton signed into law? it de-regulated energy stock trades for one-which allowed wild price spikes and all kinds of speculation and now they are traded globally and no one can set any sort of regulation on them. hence the gas prices spike now any time they want.. And the eventual enron meltdown..Thanks, Bill. Oh– thanks also for signing NAFTA into law; which now we know ended US jobs for off shore.. The list is long. But the clinton owned press kept much under wraps, did you forget clinton's somolia? And the "dumbing down" of our education system during the 90's does not seem to teach history any more as well.... Best regards, Perplexed...
"veteran1957
Sorry bud-read your history-more deregulation occured under clinton. for example-did you forget the commodities moderization act that clinton signed into law? it de-regulated energy stock trades for one-which allowed wild price spikes and all kinds of speculation and now they are traded globally and no one can set any sort of regulation on them. hence the gas prices spike now any time they want.. And the eventual enron meltdown..Thanks, Bill. Oh– thanks also for signing NAFTA into law; which now we know ended US jobs for off shore.. The list is long. But the clinton owned press kept much under wraps, did you forget clinton's somolia? And the "dumbing down" of our education system during the 90's does not seem to teach history any more as well.... Best regards, Perplexed..."
Maybe you should start by reading a little history.... Phil Gramm "R" was actually an author of what is known as the "Enron Loophole". He and his wife both sat on the board of Enron. It is not disputed anywhere that Phil Gramm is credited with the Enron Language of the Bill! My only point was that Democrats are pro regulatory and Republicans are anti-regulatory. Phil Gramm and his pack did not want Regulations and put specific wording into the amendments to prevent it. In 2008, the Democratic majority finally closed the "Enron Loophole".
Yep...and didn't Clinton also build nuclear power plants in North Korea? Who's threatening our west coast with nukes now? Oh yea....
Democrats, you are not perfect and you have hosed this country just as much, if not more, than Repubs....get over yourselves....please!!!
In 2008 Congress enacted into law over President Bush’s veto an Omnibus Farm Bill that contained the “Close the Enron Loophole Act.”
By the Way, I am a Republican and I am anti-regulatory.
Gee We couldn't have figured that out by ourselves could we???
It is funny when Clinton was President this Country was never better off!!! Then Bush came in and look at the mess we have now... But of course you would blame Clinton for the mess!!!
All wars have a black market in whatever can be stolen and sold. Did you expect this one to be different.
My first thought in reading this article; what is the Obama administration doing about remedying this problem? Are our loved ones now fighting a war isolated from their families; those letters and packages mean more to our troops than most Americans can even imagine. What is the military doing to alleviate this situation for our people in harm's way?
My second question; how much impact on the safety of our troops is impacted by these lost convoys...are we sacrificing our troops by not adequately supplying them? Give us an alternative route to supply them; and no alternative is not an answer.
We are supplying them better today than when Bush was President!!!
I shipped supplies over there for the Army last September and they are still sitting in a warehouse in Pakistan because the Army can't get the paperwork straight. To make matters worse, the Army won't pay for the items until they receive them in Afghanistan. They owe me about $25,000 since last September.
I no longer ship through Pakistan, I only ship DHL air freight directly to Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. The shipping is usually more than the cost of the supplies but its the only way to insure the items get there and more importantly, that we get paid.
I guess that answer other poster's questions about why we do not simply air-lift everything in..... it can be done, but is much more expensive.
It seems it should be cheaper than sending it by ship!!!
Lets just go ahead and level the entire Mountain range. They HATE us, its clear.
As far as the reader who blames Obama for all like "destroying the Gulf" -Get a purpose in life and stop blaming The president. Looser.
Do you know why they hate us ? Because we did bad with them, not once, not twice .. but many times. and you would have done same if you were in their shoes. I am not defending their actions or thoughts; I know i won't like if someone will use all of US nation to fight a war against china ...... as US used afghanistan and pakistan in war against USSR.
Perhaps you are confusing our support for Afghani freedom following the 1979 invasion by Russia – with intervention requested by Afghanistan, with some other action.
I remember the Berlin airlift when the Russians cut off all land access to West Berlin and the Western Allies were still able to get supplies in by air. Can't we do a better job today or did we forget how?
War materiel is heavy. An airlift like Berlin would be too cost prohibitive. Our biggest aircraft can only haul one Abrams battle tank or one those new fangle MRAP trucks. They have not forgotten the lessons of the Berlin Airlift. War profiteers have paid our politicians for the priveledge of hauling GI stuff. They in turn hire locals that are not prepared or give a damn about our GI stuff. In short...it's a much bigger problem that requires our Army to secure its own supplies.
Raul,
What on Earth are you talking about? Have you ever heard of a C5A Galaxy? It can haul MUCH more than one M1-A1 Abrams tank! The supply convoys that are being attacked are ones that are supply nearby troops. Flying to Kabul would require a lot of trucks to be sent there and they don't have the resources to unload everything.
@Lee so who told us to be there in first place.
is it Un-American to provide military escorts for convoys or something?
No, not un-American. Just means that if we had escorts that Pakistan would look like they wanted to help us. They are the ones not allowing military escorts, leaving the convoys open to destruction.
Yep....Just keep sending that care package stuff to our guys. The military contractors get paid no matter the shipment gets there our not.
benefit
This is so stupid. We need to use our troops to ensure the supply line. Or force the Pakistani's to do so.
How do you propose to force a soverign nation?
Thats a wet dream. How can a bankrupt nation living on borrowed money force another sovereign nation – one that is a nuclear power, for starters. Pakistan is not Iraq.
Force Pakistan: ah perhaps a DUBYA moment: yall are with us or against us
Hey that worked in 2001, got news for yall, its not 2001. maybe you guys havent noticed but there is a war going on in afghanistan, no its not between US and Alqaeda (since alqaeda isnt in afghanistan) its between pak and india. with the indians hiding behind the US. pakistan did the right thing by the US and did its best to defeat Al qaeda in good faith and will continue to do so, BUT ENUF IS ENUF
The only thing we are trying to do is make PEACE in the Regent!!! That would benefict them as much as it will us...