US-Pakistan Relations Turn South–Negotiations on Transit Broken Off

by Matthew Payne on June 12, 2012Leave a comment

So, relations with Pakistan and the US (and therefore NATO) have soured some more according to the BBC:

The US has temporarily pulled out of talks with Pakistan over re-opening vital supply routes to the Nato-led forces in Afghanistan.

“The decision was reached to bring the team home for a short period of time,” Pentagon spokesman George Little said.

Pakistan said the talks had not broken down – they were “still on”.

Islamabad shut a Nato supply route in November after a Nato air strike near the Afghan-Pakistani border which killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

While the sticking point appears to be the lack of an apology from Washington on the slaughter of 24 Pakistani soldiers late last year (apparently the Pentagon is sticking by the generally unsupportable cover story that this incident was due to Pakistani support for the Taliban), but Pakistan is pushing for a major increase in the transit fees from $500 to $2500 a truck.  One might imagine that Islamabad could give NATO the “ally discount” it has provided over the last decade of war–but then again, given the constant pounding of Pakistani villages by American drones, maybe the Pakistanis are not inclined to see NATO as allies any more?

Other Posts You May Like:

  1. Forever War, Afghan Edition–The French Blink
  2. Afghan Endgame Following The Vietnam Script
  3. The Forever War–The Drone War’s “Christmas Truce”
  4. Reckless Drone Campaign Pushes US-Pakistan Relations to the Brink

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