Open Borders

US military equipment is once again starting to flow freely across Afghanistan’s borders following a series of “high-level” discussions aimed at curbing escalating tensions between US and Afghan officials, said Maj. Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, commander of the 9th Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force-Afghanistan. “In the last couple of days, the borders are starting to open up and the materiel is starting to flow,” Wilsbach, the top Air Force general in Afghanistan, told the Daily Report in a July 20 telephone interview from Kabul. He added, “We’ve seen a stagnation over the last couple of weeks, but after a series of meetings, they got it worked out.” Wilsbach said the delay forced the United States to increase the amount of cargo airlifted out of theater. However, this was “a slight amount in the big scheme of things,” he noted. The dispute centered on the Afghan government’s efforts to tax US shipping containers leaving the country. Press TV reported that the Afghans claimed the United States had racked up a bill of $70 million in exit taxes. (For more from the Wilsbach interview, see This Isn’t the End and It’s No Rag-Tag Operation.)