This
is the reality behind the rhetoric. The US and its NATO allies are on
the back foot.
U.S.
doesn't expect Pakistan to reopen Afghan war supply routes soon
WASHINGTON,
May 4, 2012 (Reuters) — As the Taliban kicks off its spring
fighting season in Afghanistan, an agreement with Pakistan that would
help NATO supply its troops there could be weeks or months away,
forcing military leaders to spend two-and-a-half times as much to
ship some supplies through Central Asia.
26
April, 2012
The
Obama administration remains locked in negotiations with Pakistan to
reopen the key supply routes into Afghanistan, and officials do not
expect talks bogged down over proposed tariffs and U.S. military
assistance to reach resolution anytime soon.
The
continued closure of ground routes, which Islamabad shut after two
dozen of its soldiers were killed by NATO aircraft in November, poses
one more challenge to U.S. President Barack Obama's already troubled
campaign in Afghanistan.
A
deal is almost certainly impossible before May 20-21, when Obama will
host NATO leaders in his hometown of Chicago. There, Western leaders
will define plans for moving out of Afghanistan and for funding local
troops they hope can contain a resilient insurgency when NATO
withdraws.
A
U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that
talks in Islamabad between Pakistani and U.S. officials on supply
routes, were continuing this week, but "no decisions are
imminent."
"There's
value in continuing to have those discussions, but there's no sense
those talks are going to turn into decisions" shortly, the
official said.
A
deal would require agreement on Pakistan's proposal to impose tariffs
on NATO supplies, including how tariffs would be formulated, where
that money would go, and how the West would ensure those funds were
being used appropriately.
Another
issue stalling the talks is disagreement over how much the United
States should reimburse Pakistan for counter-terrorism activity by
Pakistani forces.
The
United States believes it owes Pakistan about $1 billion in arrears
for that program, called Coalition Support Funds, while Pakistan
contends the figure is much higher, perhaps over three times as much.
The Pentagon has approved over $8.8 billion in military
reimbursements for Pakistan since 2002.
NEW
ARRANGEMENT
Once
those arrears have been paid, both countries appear to want to set up
a new arrangement for providing U.S. financial support for Pakistan's
anti-militant activities.
Pakistan's
supply routes have been closed since the November 26 cross-border
NATO air attack that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers and plunged already
tumultuous ties between the two uneasy allies to their lowest point
in years.
Before
their closure, the two land supply routes through Pakistan accounted
for just under a third of all cargo that the NATO-led force in
Afghanistan shipped there. The closure has held up thousands of tons
of equipment.
Pakistan
has said it will impose tariffs on ports and roads used by NATO, in
part to express Pakistani outrage over the border deaths and in part
to shore up funding for its fight against militants that target the
Pakistani state.
The
Pentagon says the route closure has not yet had a real impact on the
fight in Afghanistan. "Obviously it gets more challenging as we
get closer to 2014," the U.S. official said, when most foreign
combat troops will make their way home.
In
a report released this week, the Defense Department warned that a
prolonged closure of the supply routes could "significantly
degrade" withdrawal operations as NATO nations try to establish
a modicum of stability in Afghanistan before most of their troops are
pulled out at the end of 2014.
While
the Taliban has been pushed out of some areas since 2009, when Obama
began a troop surge designed to turn around a long-neglected war, the
insurgency remains resilient.
The
talks come as the Obama administration tries to repair ties with
Pakistan also damaged by U.S. drone strikes in Pakistani tribal areas
and the U.S. raid that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in
Pakistan last year.
They
also come at a sensitive moment in Pakistan, where the parliament has
approved recommendations from its national security committee on ties
with the United States, including a demand to end drone strikes and
an apology for the soldiers' deaths.
"Certainly
the domestic situation in Pakistan has a role to play" in the
negotiations, the U.S. official
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