Pathetic. Whomever the security company was, that was contracted to protect this depot, did a horrific job of protecting it. When guards just stand by helplessly, and allow the attackers to come in and destroy everything, then something is severely screwed up. That much is apparent. You get what you pay for I guess, and we need to take a more assertive role in protecting our vital supplies out there.
Pakistan is doing a terrible job, Pakistani PSC’s are doing a terrible job, and 70 % of our logistics comes from Peshawar. If we are serious about fighting the war in Afghanistan, then we need to get serious about protecting our logistics. I say pay the money to hire competent security to protect these convoys and depots, or send the troops to protect this stuff. Or get out of the business of even dealing with Pakistan for our logistics. –Head Jundi
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More than 160 US, NATO vehicles burned in Pakistan
By RIAZ KHAN
December 7, 2008
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Militants torched 160 vehicles, including dozens of Humvees destined for U.S. and allied forces fighting in Afghanistan, in the boldest attack so far on the critical military supply line through Pakistan.
The American military said Sunday’s raid on two transport terminals near the beleaguered Pakistani city of Peshawar would have “minimal” impact on anti-Taliban operations set to expand with the arrival of thousands more troops next year.
However, the attack feeds concern that insurgents are trying to choke the route through the famed Khyber Pass, which carries up to 70 percent of the supplies for Western forces in landlocked Afghanistan, and drive up the cost of the war.
It also dents faith in Pakistani authorities already under pressure from India and the U.S. to act on suspicion that the deadly terror attacks in Mumbai were orchestrated by Islamic extremists based in Pakistan.
The owner of one of the terminals hit Sunday denied government claims that security was boosted after an ambush last month in which bearded militants made off with a Humvee and later paraded it in triumph before journalists.
“We don’t feel safe here at all,” Kifayatullah Khan told The Associated Press. He predicted that most of his night watchmen would quit their jobs out of fear. “It is almost impossible for us to continue with this business.”
The attack reduced a section of the walled Portward Logistic Terminal to a smoldering junkyard.
Khan said armed men flattened the gate before dawn with a rocket-propelled grenade, fatally shot a guard and set fire to 106 vehicles, including about 70 Humvees.
Humvees are thought to cost about $100,000 each, though the price varies widely depending on armor and other equipment, meaning Sunday’s losses may exceed $10 million.
An Associated Press reporter who visited the depot saw six rows of destroyed Humvees and military trucks packed close together, some on flatbed trailers, all of them gutted and twisted by the flames.
Khan said shipping documents showed they were destined for U.S. forces and the Western-trained Afghan National Army.
The attackers fled after a brief exchange of fire with police, who arrived about 40 minutes later, he said.
Nine other guards who stood helplessly aside during the attack put the number of assailants at 300, Khan said. Police official Kashif Alam said there were only 30.
At the nearby Faisal depot, manager Shah Iran said 60 vehicles destined for Afghanistan as well as three Pakistani trucks were also burned.
The attacks were the latest in a series highlighting the vulnerability of the supply route to the spreading power of the Taliban in the border region, which is also considered a likely hiding place for al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.
Vast quantities of supplies pass through Pakistan after being unloaded from ships at the Arabian sea port of Karachi. Some is routed through Quetta toward the Afghan city of Kandahar, but most flows through the Khyber Pass toward Kabul and the huge U.S. air base at Bagram.
The U.S. military in Afghanistan said in a statement that an unspecified number of its containers were destroyed but that their loss would have “minimal effect on our operations.”
“It’s militarily insignificant,” U.S. spokeswoman Lt. Col. Rumi Nielsen-Green said. “You can’t imagine the volume of supplies that come through there and elsewhere and other ways.”
Still, NATO is seeking an alternative route through Central Asia, which it acknowledges is more expensive.
Pakistan halted traffic through the Khyber Pass for several days in November while it arranged for troops to guard the slow-moving convoys.
Shahedullah Baig, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry in Islamabad, insisted Sunday that the extra security covered the terminals.
“They are fully protected, but in this kind of situation such incidents happen,” Baig said.
However, Khan, the depot manager, said that was untrue, and that there were only a handful of lightly armed police at the targeted terminals on Sunday afternoon.
Peshawar has seen a surge in violence in recent weeks, including the slaying of an American working on a U.S.-funded aid project. On Saturday, a car bomb detonated in a busy market area of the city, killing 29 people and injuring 100 more.
Mehmood Shah, a former chief of security in Pakistan’s tribal badlands now working as a consultant, said militants appeared to have moved into the Khyber region from both sides of the border in recent months to put pressure on the supply route.
The terminals, like the route itself, could not be adequately protected by private security guards, he said.
“The government should have done it or the U.S. should have insisted that the government do it,” he said.
Associated Press writers Zarar Khan and Stephen Graham in Islamabad and Heidi Vogt and Jason Straziuso in Kabul contributed to this report.
Story Here
In your professional opinion, is there a PMC that could handle convoy and assembly area security for OEF logistics?
Seems to me it would require expat leadership with Paki and Afghan shooters, as well as lots of chai drinking with the headmen along the route. There would have to be a slush fund for bribes which the COR probably wouldn't authorize.
Of course, the Pakistani Teamsters Union, Mafia, Khasadar, FC, Army and Taliban would all have to be paid off, too.
Comment by Cannoneer No. 4 — Sunday, December 7, 2008 @ 1:32 PM
Sure. Companies like Compass ISS are already doing those services. I think a company like Armor Group could also do that trek no problem. Although it will cost more, and those convoys will require a little more firepower and support than what is going on now. These convoys must become harder targets, and the enemy/criminals must be hunted and given pressure, or they will continue to attack freely.
The main issue is geography and lack of alternate land routes. The enemy knows this, and we do to. What we should be doing is taking advantage of this, and look at this as an opportunity to kill these guys, as they try to attack the convoys. Task Force Odin was awesome at watching the roads in Iraq, identifying the bomb planters or ambushers, and passing the word to the appropriate forces. This could be applied to this situation, if it was coordinated properly.
As for the appropriate forces in Pakistan(police and military)? Of course the Pakistanis are trying to deal with this, but barely and with limited resources. We must get more involved with the process there, or go elsewhere for our supplies. I don't think we have a choice, so that means a cooperative for clearing the roads. Teams(military or PSC) on the ground, working with an overwatch and with local Pakistani forces, would do wonders. Most of all, an overwatch could notify the various convoy trains coming through the passes. But that would mean establishing communications between military and civilian contractors, so that intel could actually be used.(this is an issue that has yet to be worked out)
The depot locations are interesting too. Maybe they need to be moved into a more secure location. One that could be easier to defend? That would mean coordinating with the shipping companies. A really basic one, would be to move them away from the villages. The depots should be secure and easy to defend. If they are not, then they should be moved.
As for the how? Easy. If you bring together the military/companies/trusted Pakistani forces, and sit down together and discuss on how to properly deal with this, then sure it is possible. Greasing the palms of whatever tribes and local groups is the name of the game throughout the world, if you want to get something done. Pakistan is no different.
There are other issues, like dealing with the source of the attacks and who would provide the overwatch.(task force odin maybe, or something similar?) But believe me, anything is possible if we make it a priority and if sufficient funds and proper management is applied to the problem. I emphasize management or better yet, leadership. This must be a priority in the war effort in Afghanistan. The attacks are getting worse, and it is time to put the hammer down.
We could also try to bring in actual troops to secure these roads and depots, but could you imagine the public outcry in Pakistan? PSC's could be a smoother insertion of that kind of security, and easier to work with the local populations to get that done.(hybrid PSC's with Pakistani/Western forces) Like I said, companies like Compass ISS are already running the roads, and more could be done in terms of getting solid and capable companies over there. In Iraq, I witnessed first hand how this could work, and with a little tweaking, it could be done for this situation as well.
One last thing is that we could do the airlift thing. But can you imagine the cost for such a thing? Although what we are looking at in the region already is the shotgun technique for logistics. We will get our stuff there, one way or the other.(air or land) But these attacks are a menace, and they will get worse. And sure it will be costly to bring in this kind of security and effort for our logistics, but the enemy/criminal element will make it even more costly for us if we do nothing. Hell, it has already become more costly–both in lives and treasure.
Also, the guy I would ask about all of this, is Tim Lynch over at Free Range International.(check my links to the right) The guy has been running the roads in Afghanistan for awhile, and has more of a feel for how something like this could be accomplished. My ideas and opinions are just that. The ones to talk to about this, are the ones in the field who know the realities of how to get this done.
Comment by headjundi — Sunday, December 7, 2008 @ 2:55 PM