Gen. James Mattis, chief of US Central Command (CentCom) told Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that to get 23,000 US troops out of Afghanistan later this year – Washington needs Pakistan’s cooperation. He is planning to visit Islamabad in a few days to discuss reopening of two key supply lines with Pakistan’s military high command. Pakistan had shut down NATO supply route after US forces killed 28 Pakistani soldiers at Afghan-Pakistan check post on November 26, 2011.
Since then the Pentagon has been using the alternate supply route known as Northern Distribution Network (NDN), a far longer and costlier set of routes running fron northern Afghanistan to Europe through central Asia Muslim states (Kazakhistan, Tajikistan, Krygyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan).
Pakistan’s Senate is expected to review country’s relations with the US-NATO in mid-March and set-up new guidelines for opening the NATO supply routes. The new guidelines are expected to include US respect for Pakistan’s territorial integrity, close US-Pakistan military and intelligence cooperation, no CIA sabotage cell in Pakistan and higher fees and taxes on US supply transporation.
Senator Saleem Saifullah, former chairman of Senate Foreign Affair Committee says that he doesn’t expect an immediate resolution passed to normalize relations with the US and NATO.
Gen. James Mattis who doesn’t have the independence of Admiral Fox Fallon, but even he has baulked at the prospect of attacking the Islamic Republic. Mattis, like his predecessor Gen. David Petraeus, believes that the US cannot win the heart of Muslim world unless it resolves the Israel-Palestine problem based on justice and dignity.
River to SeaSince then the Pentagon has been using the alternate supply route known as Northern Distribution Network (NDN), a far longer and costlier set of routes running fron northern Afghanistan to Europe through central Asia Muslim states (Kazakhistan, Tajikistan, Krygyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan).
Pakistan’s Senate is expected to review country’s relations with the US-NATO in mid-March and set-up new guidelines for opening the NATO supply routes. The new guidelines are expected to include US respect for Pakistan’s territorial integrity, close US-Pakistan military and intelligence cooperation, no CIA sabotage cell in Pakistan and higher fees and taxes on US supply transporation.
Senator Saleem Saifullah, former chairman of Senate Foreign Affair Committee says that he doesn’t expect an immediate resolution passed to normalize relations with the US and NATO.
Gen. James Mattis who doesn’t have the independence of Admiral Fox Fallon, but even he has baulked at the prospect of attacking the Islamic Republic. Mattis, like his predecessor Gen. David Petraeus, believes that the US cannot win the heart of Muslim world unless it resolves the Israel-Palestine problem based on justice and dignity.
Uprooted Palestinian 
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