Avoiding Pakistan, New Supply Route to Afghanistan Opens

A new route to take cargo to American and NATO forces in Afghanistan has opened, American officials said Tuesday, providing an alternative to the primary supply route — through the troubled border with Pakistan — as it comes increasingly under threat.

Some of the cargo, which is made up of commercial goods, was rolling by rail through Russian territory on Tuesday, said Capt. Kevin Aandahl, the spokesman for United States Transportation Command. The cargo enters Europe at the port cities of Riga, Latvia, and Poti, Georgia. For now, the cargo will enter Afghanistan from Uzbekistan, but some is expected to travel through neighboring Tajikistan in the future, said Western diplomatic officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity, following normal diplomatic protocol.

As the United States begins increasing its war effort in landlocked Afghanistan and the security in Pakistan deteriorates, the issue of supply lines has become crucial. Bagram Air Base, the main hub for forces in Afghanistan, moved over 50 percent more cargo and people in January than in the same period in 2008, the military said.

But the new route is complex, covering a diverse set of countries, some of which dislike one another and few of which have first-class infrastructure. It will also not be a replacement for Pakistan, which currently allows the shipment of between 2,000 and 3,000 containers a month into Afghanistan. The new route is expected to handle about 500, Captain Aandahl said, and the shipments will include nonlethal goods like food, water and construction materials.

The new route does not address the problem of the potential closing of the Manas Air Base, in Kyrgyzstan, mainly because that base is a transit point primarily for people, not goods. In January, 9,100 military personnel moved through Manas, just over a third of the 25,000 who went through Bagram, according to figures from the military.

The military argues that Manas is not indispensable, and that if the United States is required to leave, American bases in the Persian Gulf will pick up the slack.

“Manas is a useful base, but it’s not essential,” said Maj. Joseph D. Kloppel, a spokesman for the United States Central Command, which covers the Middle East and Central Asia.

On Feb. 20, the Kyrgyz government delivered a note to the United States Embassy in Bishkek terminating the base agreement and starting the six-month clock for the withdrawal of American and coalition forces, said a spokesman for the embassy who asked that his name not be used. But talks with senior Kyrgyz officials are still continuing, the spokesman said, adding, “the ultimate status of the base remains an open question.”

Deeper relations with Uzbekistan may also bring problems. The country’s president, Islam A. Karimov, is one of the most repressive leaders in the region and has been fickle about relations with the United States, ejecting American troops from a base there in 2005.

But last week, Mr. Karimov confirmed publicly that he would allow the United States to ship nonlethal cargo through his territory. A Western diplomat in Uzbekistan said the agreement included flying cargo into the Navoi airfield in central Uzbekistan for further shipment by rail or road.