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Bottomless Pit - U.S. Balks at Bills for Afghanistan’s Treacherous Salang Tunnel

Started by cpzilliacus, October 03, 2014, 12:13:44 AM

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cpzilliacus

Wall Street Journal (paywalled - if you cannot see the full article, PM me with an e-mail address and I will send a link to it): Bottomless Pit - U.S. Balks at Bills for Afghanistan's Treacherous Salang Tunnel

QuoteIt had already taken Abdul Wali all morning to make the trip, hauling fuel some 200 miles from the border of Uzbekistan along a potholed highway. But the worst part of his journey was ahead: crossing the Salang Tunnel, some 2 miles above sea level.

QuoteOn this day, traffic had already slowed to a crawl, as fog blanketed the north approach to the tunnel. A mud-flecked convoy of police trucks, bristling with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, idled near the entrance. Mr. Wali, wearing a crisp white shalwar kameez and blue checkered scarf, stowed his tool kit and teapot for the next stage of the daylong journey.

QuoteHe looked on the bright side: At least the weather was good. "It takes two or three days to go to Kabul in the winter,"  he said.

QuoteConsidered a marvel of engineering when it was built decades ago, the Salang serves a critical role in this corner of the world. Carved from the rock of the Hindu Kush mountain range, it is the only viable land route linking the capital, Kabul, to northern Afghanistan. According to the U.S. military, some 80% of the country's commerce passes through it.



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