U.S.-Pakistan Tensions Jeopardize Afghanistan Mission

Lisa Curtis / October 05, 2010

Pakistan’s closure of one of the main NATO supply routes into Afghanistan and the string of attacks on NATO convoys transiting Pakistan over the last few days highlights the vulnerability of the entire coalition mission in Afghanistan to events inside Pakistan. Nearly eighty percent of supplies for the war effort in Afghanistan currently transit Pakistan. There have been several militant attacks on NATO trucks in the past but this is the first time Pakistan has formally closed down one of the border crossings.

The border closure demonstrates Islamabad’s furor over last week’s NATO strike that accidentally killed three Pakistani troops. NATO officials did not immediately issue an apology and instead claimed they had fired in self-defense. Islamabad is signaling the international community not to take for granted its sovereignty and cooperation with the Afghan war effort. NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s official apology to the Pakistani Foreign Minister today should help soothe Pakistani anger over the incident. (more…)