Report on Progress Toward Security and Stability in - United States ...

functioned as the primary sustainment routes into Afghanistan, increased in importance
following the November 2011 closure of the Pakistani GLOC to ISAF cargo. Maintaining the
NDN LOCs remains critical to ongoing operations in Afghanistan. Efforts are underway to
diversify the NDN, with new over-flight permissions and expanded ground transit agreements
including “reverse” transit and transits of wheeled armored vehicles.
The Kyrgyz Republic hosts the Transit Center at Manas International Airport (TCM), the
primary transit point for U.S. personnel movement to and from Afghanistan. The agreement
between the Kyrgyz Republic and the United States to allow the TCM to operate will expire in
July 2014. Access to the TCM beyond the current agreement remains an ongoing political issue.
Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev, elected in October 2011, continues to affirm his
support for the Transit Center through 2014.
Beyond the NDN and logistics support, the Central Asian States contribute infrastructure and
economic development to Afghanistan. Uzbekistan completed a 75 km railway line from
Hairatan to Mazar-e-Sharif in November 2010; limited railway operations have begun and may
reach full capability later this year. As Afghan infrastructure continues to develop, expanded
road, rail, and air networks will facilitate additional commercial activity between Afghanistan
and its northern neighbors. Uzbekistan also provides electricity to Afghanistan.
Central Asian States’ concerns in Afghanistan include both the spread of violent extremism in
the region and threats stemming from narcotics trafficking and related criminal activities.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Tajikistan remains the
primary route for Afghan-produced narcotics to Russian markets, with conduits through other
Central Asian States. Border security will also remain a top concern for the Central Asian States,
which are closely attuned to the implications for their own countries stemming from events in
Afghanistan and developments in narcotics trafficking.
8.4: IRAN
Iran aims to play a dominant, long-term role in Afghanistan and the broader region, and seeks the
permanent withdrawal of foreign forces from regional nation-states. Iran’s attempts to influence
events in Afghanistan include overt support for the Afghan Government; economic and cultural
outreach to the Afghan population, particularly to the Shi’a minority populations; and covert
support, including the provision of weapons and training, for various insurgent and political
opposition groups.
At the highest political levels, Iran seeks to maintain positive relations with the Afghan
government. In addition to maintaining a diplomatic presence in Afghanistan, Tehran often uses
high-level visits and key leadership engagements to publicly criticize the presence of
international forces in Afghanistan and to call for the withdrawal of ISAF. Of note during the
reporting period, Iranian and Afghan Defense Ministry officials held their first Joint Defense
Commission meeting in Tehran in December 2011. The officials signed an agreement for Iran to
increase Iranian fuel exports (e.g., gasoil, gasoline, jet fuel) to Afghanistan beginning in 2012.
Iran’s Defense Ministry also agreed to provide the Afghan Army with food items, medical
equipment, supplies for mosques, and scholarships in areas such as medicine and civil
engineering.
106