The Defense Minister says that American ground forces will not be allowed to move through Russia to Central Asian countries bordering Afghanistan. There are also doubts that the Trans-Siberian railroad could handle American M1 tanks (which weigh 70 tons each, some 20 tons more than Russian tanks, which are kept at the lower weight so they can be carried on Russian railroads.)  Russia does back military action against nations that support terrorists and is offering to share intelligence data on terrorists, and provide officers with experience fighting in Afghanistan to assist US planning.