Thoughts on the military and military activities of a diverse nature. Free-ranging and eclectic.

Monday, June 30, 2008

MSR - - Afghan.


This is coolbert:

"lieutenants think tactics, generals think logistics!!"

Retired Lt. Col. Ralph Peters being interviewed on the Michael Medved radio talk show this afternoon.

Peters is a regular guest on the talk show and usually makes some startling and pretty much right on comments. Ralph now acts as an advisor to John McCain!

Peters makes this assertion:

The main supply route [MSR] for the American, NATO, and Afghan government forces [those people battling the Taliban] runs through Pakistan.

Precarious and tenuous at best.

Supplies, the beans, bullets, fuel, are unloaded from ship at Karachi, put on a train, and sent to Afghan, having to pass through the Khyber Pass.

The traditional invasion route for conquerors through all the ages. Used by invaders and armies on the march at least since the time of Alexander [The Great] and probably before that as well.

"In some versions of the Aryan migration theory, the Indo-Aryans migrated to India via the Khyber Pass. Recorded invasions through the Khyber begin with the conquests of Alexander the Great and also include later Muslim invasions of South Asia, culminating with the establishment of the Mughul Empire from 1526. From India, the British invaded Afghanistan and fought three Afghan Wars in 1839-42, 1878-80, and 1919."

ONLY NOW has the Pakistani government made provisions to properly guard and safeguard the pass [Khyber] from unwanted intrusion. Supplies must get through. Obviously, if the MSR is cut, what is left for the American and NATO forces to do? Beat feet and in a hurry, abandoning all equipment, boarding planes, and hightailing it out of the place?

I fear the worst if the jihadi gets it in their head to wage a guerrilla campaign against that MSR. The traditional methods used for millennium by the Pathans [the Pathans consider the pass to be "our thing!!"]! Sniping, mining, demolitions, landslides, etc.

Or if Pakistan becomes chaotic, goes under, or is taken over by the fundamentalist American hating jihadi forces!

Provisions and contingency plans have been put in place if any of my worst case scenarios transpire? A prudent commander prepares for the worst?

Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst?!

Let us pray!!

coolbert.

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1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

One would hope that there is a plan in place to use a route or routes through Russia and some former Soviet Republics. Apparently, there are US forces in some bases there already:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:US_military_bases_in_the_world_2007.PNG

There have got to be rail lines and highways through the "stans" that the US could use for resupply that were built during Soviet days, right?
The US should pay top dollar for use of these facilities. But a major part of this is having a better relationship with the Russians. In my view, we antagonize them for no reason, but that is another comment thread. We shouldn't let political spats get in the way of keeping our people as lavishly supplied as possible.

8:36 AM

 

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