http://news.antiwar.com/2012/05/20/report-afghan-troops-forge-secret-alliances-with-taliban/
New reports suggest that a number of Afghan Army figures are playing a role in these ambushes, with Lt. Mohammad Wali openly discussing the matter, and admitting they he was sharing intel about the locations of convoys with the Taliban in return for a piece of the action.
Interestingly, the condemnation came a week after the Pakistani government announced the fees, and there were no previous indications of any problem with them. At the time, however, US officials believed that a finalized deal was imminent.
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Report: Afghan Troops Forge ‘Secret Alliances’ With Taliban
Army Lieutenant Shares Intel on NATO Supply Convoys, Splits 'Proceeds'
by Jason Ditz, May 20, 2012
About 20 percent of NATO supply convoys in Afghanistan come under attack at one point or another during their voyages, and while it is the Taliban carrying out a good portion of those attacks, it is not always acting alone.
New reports suggest that a number of Afghan Army figures are playing a role in these ambushes, with Lt. Mohammad Wali openly discussing the matter, and admitting they he was sharing intel about the locations of convoys with the Taliban in return for a piece of the action.
“The plan is simple,” Wali explained. “When the Taliban attack the convoys we stay in our bases. If the Taliban capture something valuable then they share it with us later.” NATO commanders conceded this was a growing problem, with a large amount of intercepted communication between Afghan troops and Taliban nationwide.
This is yet another reason for distrust between the Afghan military and the occupation forces, with tensions already on the rise because of a number of killings on base resulting from arguments.
and....
http://news.antiwar.com/2012/05/20/us-pakistan-still-at-odds-over-border-deal/
US, Pakistan Still at Odds Over Border Deal
US Officials Condemn 'Unacceptable' Fees
by Jason Ditz, May 20, 2012
Though the Pakistani government did allow some supplies into Afghan last week, there is still no sign that a deal is going to be finalized to open the route permanently,with US officials angrily condemning the large fees proposed by Pakistan as “unacceptable.”
Interestingly, the condemnation came a week after the Pakistani government announced the fees, and there were no previous indications of any problem with them. At the time, however, US officials believed that a finalized deal was imminent.
Now, it seems that could be far off,with the Pakistani government still seeking a “permanent” solution to the US drone strikes against the country, and the Pakistani military reiterating demands for an apology for the November 26 US attack.
The sudden US objection to the fees, in this context, is likely an effort to convince Pakistan that they should “compromise” by abandoning their demand for the US to end its drone strikes and to forget about the apology.
and....
http://dawn.com/2012/05/20/us-rejects-high-pakistan-fees-for-supply-routes-official/
US rejects high Pakistan fees for supply routes: official
AFP | 21 hours ago
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A senior US official said that Pakistan’s steep fee rise for charging Nato supply routes into Afghanistan was “In a word, unacceptable.” -File Photo
CHICAGO: US-Pakistani talks on reopening vital supply routes for Nato forces in Afghanistan have faltered over Islamabad’s “unacceptable” demand to charge steep fees for trucks crossing the border, a senior US official told AFP Sunday.
Pakistan also has failed to present a coherent, consistent position in the negotiations, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The US official said “to some extent it’s something the Pakistanis will have to work out themselves.”
”Inside the Pakistani government, they need a consolidated proposal for what to put on the table.”
The official confirmed that Pakistan has proposed an exponential increase in fees, from the current rate of about $250 per truck to “thousands of dollars.” “That’s, in a word, unacceptable,” he said.
The proposed fees were a concern not only for the United States but other Nato countries with troops in Afghanistan, the official said, as the alliance plans a gradual withdrawal of most combat forces over the next two years.
Asked if the United States was willing to consider a dramatic hike in border fees, the official said: “Not when seven or eight months ago we were paying a small fraction of that figure.”
The United States still expected to work out a deal eventually on the border crossing but hopes had faded for an agreement that could be announced before or during Nato’s summit in Chicago on Sunday and Monday, the official said.
“I think you’ll see a resolution soon but it will take a little more work,”he said.
After botched US air strikes killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in November, Pakistan shut the Torkham border gate on its northwest border, forcing Nato to rely on northern routes and cargo aircraft to ferry supplies and troops into Afghanistan.
Talks scheduled in Chicago between Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari were canceled Saturday.
Both Nato and Pakistani officials insisted to AFP that the last-minute delay in the planned meeting was due to the late arrival of Zardari’s flight from London.
and.....
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/21/nato-us-pakistan-supply-lines
A rift between the US and Pakistan appears to be widening at the Nato summit in Chicago – a dangerous development that could undermine Barack Obama's hopes for an orderly withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The US has said repeatedly that Pakistan holds the key to the future of the region but relations between Obama and President Asif Ali Zardari have deteriorated in a standoff over supply routes to Afghanistan.
Pakistan closed the routes after a US air strike killed two dozen Pakistani troops in November.
Obama is refusing to see Zardari, possibly because he arrived in Chicago without a deal in his pocket on reopening the Pakistan-Afghanistan border to US transport. A White House spokesman said no bilateral meeting between Obama and Zardari at the Nato summit was scheduled.
Instead Pakistan is making a series of demands in return for reopening the supply routes, including a review of the US policy of drone attacks against targets inside Pakistan and a public apology for the killing of its troops.
Zardari was invited late to the two-day Nato summit, which will be dominated on Monday by discussion of the withdrawal of international forces from Afghanistan by 2014 and the retention of a modest armed presence in the county for a decade after that.
The Obama administration had high hopes that Zardari would arrive in Chicago prepared to announce the opening of supply routes essential to Nato. Zardari, in talks with the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, made a series of demands, offering to reopen the supply routes only if the US was prepared to pay a higher charge for each vehicle using it, doubling the tariff from $250 to $500 per vehicle. Zardari also demanded a public apology for the killings.
The fact that Zardari had to settle for a meeting with Clinton rather than the president is in itself a snub.
General John Allen, the US commander in Afghanistan, told reporters at a briefing: "There have been some very positive indications of late with the government in Islamabad about an interest in entering into negotiations, which I think you're all aware of, to open the ground line of communications. I can't tell you when that will occur – obviously sooner is better than later."
A Pakistan presidential spokesman said Zardari told Clinton he wanted "to find a permanent solution to the drone issue as it not only violated our sovereignty but also inflamed public sentiments due to innocent civilian casualties". The US is using drone attacks on suspected al-Qaida and Taliban members.
The Obama administration is angry over the demand for increased payments given the level of aid America is already giving to Pakistan. US officials frequently portray Pakistan as pivotal to a peaceful resolution of the Afghanistan conflict.
The Nato summit is on course to agree details of a phased withddrawal of the 130,000 international troops over the next two and a half years and to announce millions in dollars to maintain Afghan forces after 2014.
Pakistan has a crucial role in Afghanistan because of its close ties to the Taliban and other insurgent groups challenging the Afghanistan government.
Pakistan will regard it as a humiliation that Obama refused to grant Zardari a bilateral meeting, particularly as he met President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan in Chicago on Sunday an hour before the Nato summit opened.
The Obama administration has expressed regret over the killing of the Pakistan troops but is reluctant to issue an apology, concerned this will be portrayed by Republicans as a sign of weakness.
The Nato secretary general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said on Sunday that Nato realised it could not solve Afghanistan's problems without including Pakistan in the solution. He expressed hope the supply route issue would be resolved soon.
With the route through Pakistan closed, Nato has had to use supply routes to the north of Afghanistan, which are slower and more costly.
The White House national security spokesman, Ben Rhodes, asked at a press conference if Zardari had gone to Chicago under the misconception he would see Obama, replied that Obama's schedule was busy. He said issues such as the reopening of supply lines were not normally dealt with at presidential level. Rhodes said: "The invitation to attend this summit was extended by Nato of course. We obviously supported that. It's important for Pakistan to be here because as we contemplate the future of the region, they are obviously going to be a part of that picture.
"What I would say is, frankly, the types of issues that are being worked through about the reopening of the supply lines are not the type of issues that get hammered out at the presidential level. These are things that working-level negotiating teams sit down and address."
Rhodes did not anticipate a bilateral meeting between Zardari and Obama.
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