U.S. secures Afghan supply route

Well Kinda-sorta ! Non Military items only ! it's a start , like the old saying goes " where there is a will there is a way " And the will of the U.S. Military is very strong !

DUSHANBE (Reuters) - Tajikistan and Uzbekistan will allow the transit by land of non-military NATO cargo to Afghanistan, a U.S. commander said on Friday, as Washington seeks alternative supply routes for its troops there.

Rear Admiral Mark Harnitchek of the U.S. Transportation Command said the United States planned to send 50 to 200 containers a week to Afghanistan through the two countries.

The announcement follows a decision by pro-Moscow Kyrgyzstan to close the only U.S. air base in Central Asia, accusing Washington of refusing to pay more rent for the base.

It sent a formal notice to the U.S. ambassador in the capital Bishkek on Friday, giving U.S. troops 180 days to leave.

....

Despite the eviction notice, the Pentagon said the United States still believed it could reach a deal with Kyrgyzstan to maintain the Manas base, a key hub for moving personnel and equipment into Afghanistan for U.S. and NATO forces.

"I continue to believe this is not a closed issue but that there remains potential to reopen this with the Kyrgyz and to reach a new agreement," U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said in Krakow, Poland, where NATO defense ministers were meeting.

Kyrgyzstan's decision removes one of the U.S. military's supply routes into Afghanistan as Washington prepares to send more troops to the country to fight a Taliban insurgency that is growing in strength there and in neighboring Pakistan.

The United States and its allies fly troops and supplies from bases in Europe and the Gulf and could increase this traffic to make up for the loss of Manas air base.