Logistic problems

The American withdraw from Iraq is linked to an increase of the boots in Afghanistan. It was the natural and expected movement. But Americans aren’t as eager as their President to make that move. First is the not minor issue of leaving a few dozens of thousand soldiers in Mesopotamia. Second, they don’t want to continue in Afghanistan either.

Just the withdraw from Iraq is already a pain in the arse. Indeed. It is not easy to take out of the country 90,000 soldiers, 40,000 airplanes, helicopters and other heavy weaponry, 80,000 containers (not to mention 100,000 contractors) spread in 280 sites nationwide, in less than a year and in a more or less orderly manner. Oh, and then is the question of from and through where.

But there are some other problems that are mostly because of the unique American way of invading a country, those that force them to bring with them everything they can imagine:

One Army office at [one base,] Anaconda[,] is tracking 1.2 million items of property worth $14 billion, a partial list of materiel that includes objects such as dentist's chairs, chapel pews, swimming pool filtration systems and surveillance blimps. Separately, the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, which operates military supermarkets and shops across Iraq, holds an inventory that includes 2.7 million candy bars, 15,000 strips of beef jerky, 1.6 million cans of soda and 330,696 CDs and DVDs.

So many candy bars? And soda cans? So many CDs and DVDs? Really, was it necessary?

And that’s only half of the story. If getting out from Iraq will be complicated, getting in Afghanistan won’t be easier. The closure of Manas air base, in Kyrgyzstan, makes everything even more difficult.

Russia dennies being behind the issue, leaving it on the hands of Kirgyz Parliament. But the fact of being supplying in governmental aid the Money the Kyrgyz aren’t taking from the Americans (and a bit more) makes it a bit darker.

Manas is not only an air base for supplying and refueling. It is much more than that. And the US loses more than a base by losing Manas.

On the north, Manas was the best alternative, and even the negotiations have started to reopen it to the Americans, it is unclear what will it be. On the south, there is Pakistan. The Khyber pass, crossing point for two thirds of NATO supplies for the war against the Talibans, has been for long under attack. It is very dangerous and even the whole country is turning inestable and anti-American because of the continuing drone war over Pakistani soil. On the East, the Chinese obviously are not going to let the US use their air space or their soil to supply the troops.

Obama is against the strings. So he have had to call for help to Americans baddest enemies. A train full of non weaponry supplies is already crossing Russia on its way to Afghanistan from Lithuania. The possibility of a new route across Iran is over the table as well.

But all that is only a temporal solution. Meanwhile, the US is looking for an alternative point to set up a base in the Caucasus. Turquey is a traditional ally. But Georgia is a more strategic approach to the problem. And it would have the added pleasure of giving back the punch to the Russians. You get us out from Kyrgyzstan; fair enough. But we set up a military permanent base in your backyard playground. Isn’t it appealing?


Photo via The Big Picture.