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THE STANS
Haiti relief puts a strain on Afghan deployments: US military

US-Russia deal on Afghan transit is working: ambassador
Moscow (AFP) Jan 20, 2010 - US military planes are flying over Russia with supplies for Afghanistan under a deal signed last summer, the US ambassador to Moscow said Wednesday, denying claims that the deal had broken down. "There are many incorrect reports that this agreement is barely functioning, that supposedly there was only one flight of a US plane," John Beyrle said in an interview with Echo of Moscow radio. "In fact there were five, and 11 more are planned," he added. The number of flights given by Beyrle was still far smaller than the maximum number envisioned by the agreement, signed in July during a summit between US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev. The accord permitted up to 4,500 military flights per year carrying troops, arms and other supplies.

In November, the US State Department said the deal was still not being fully implemented as "logistical details" were still being thrashed out. The Afghan transit deal was regarded as one of the achievements of Obama's efforts to "reset" US-Russia ties, and its apparent inability to get off the ground led to speculation about behind-the-scenes difficulties. Beyrle said the United States would make more use of its transit agreement with Russia in 2010 as Obama stepped up operations against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda and sent thousands more troops to Afghanistan. "I think we will use this agreement very much this year, because as you know, President Obama has announced that a large number of forces will be sent to Afghanistan, and the air corridor over Russia will indeed be very important for supplying our troops," Beyrle said. The importance of the Russia air corridor has increased amid growing unrest and attacks on NATO convoys delivering supplies through Pakistan, Afghanistan's neighbour to the south.
by Staff Writers
 Washington (AFP) Jan 20, 2010
 The mobilization of US troops to assist relief efforts after Haiti's killer earthquake has put a strain on the surge of forces in Afghanistan, a senior US military official said Wednesday.

The US military's contribution to Haiti in the aftermath of a quake that has killed at least 75,000 people has "not right now had an effect on Afghanistan or Iraq," the official told reporters.

"But clearly it puts a strain there," said the official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity.

Some 11,000 US military personnel are currently supporting operations in Haiti and from US Navy and Coast Guard vessels offshore, as part of President Barack Obama's pledge to use "every element" of US power to help the devastated Caribbean neighbor.

Yet the relief effort is adding new pressure to a military already stretched thin with some 180,000 troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and another 30,000 expected in Afghanistan by the end of the summer as part of Obama's decision to ramp up the fight against an emboldened Taliban insurgency.

"We continue to take a very careful and conscious look to see what the impact of our deployment of forces would be on other operations around the world," the official assured.

The US military commitment is only part of the massive international effort underway to ferry aid and relief supplies to one of the world's poorest nations.

The United Nations Security Council voted Tuesday to add 3,500 military and police forces to the UN mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).

The United States and its international partners are "still in the assessment phase" of last week's massive 7.0-magnitude quake, which struck 15 miles (25 kilometers) west southwest of Port-au-Prince, the official said.

"There are areas that neither the government of Haiti nor MINUSTAH nor the US has actually had eyes on yet."

Troops from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, which arrived in Haiti Monday, and Canadian forces were being tasked to "get a better look" at some of those areas, where an estimated 700,000 to 800,000 people remain, the official said.

Around 1,000 Canadian troops are currently on the ground and a light infantry battalion stands ready to deploy.


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THE STANS
Reconciliation with Taliban leaders unlikely: Gates
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