U.S. Officials Seek More Supply Routes for Afghanistan

WASHINGTON --- As Pakistani troops apply renewed pressure on militants who have threatened a major supply line, military transportation officials are seeking alternate routes for supplying U.S. and NATO troops deployed in Afghanistan.>> Pakistani forces Dec. 30 renewed offensive operations targeting militants who, in recent weeks, have attacked some supply convoys that transit the Khyber Pass.>> That supply route runs hundreds of miles from the Pakistani port city of Karachi to Peshawar in northwestern Pakistan and then through the Khyber Pass into Afghanistan. The Khyber Pass route provides about 75 percent of the U.S. supplies to troops in Afghanistan.>> The Pakistanis' action, which caused a temporary closure of the Khyber Pass supply route, was hailed in a joint statement issued by NATO's International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces Afghanistan.>> "We are pleased with the operation to clear out the insurgents in the areas adjacent to the pass, so that our supplies can get through unhindered," the statement said. "This temporary delay will result in long-term gains for all that use that passage route.>> "There is no immediate impact on our ability to provide supplies to the troops," the statement concluded.>> Still, military officials have been looking for other options. U.S. Transportation Command's top officer, Gen. Duncan J. McNabb, traveled to several Central Asian countries in November to explore options for establishing added supply routes for Afghanistan operations, Transcom spokeswoman Cynthia Bauer said Dec. 31 during a telephone interview with American Forces Press Service. Transcom is based at Scott Air Force Base, Ill.