The Most Dangerous Road In The World

Afghan men load goods onto the top of a bus in Kabul.
Photograph: Manpreet Romana/AFP/Getty images

What Started As The Road To Recovery Has Turned Into A Highway Of Terror In Afghanistan -- The Guardian

A project that was to bring economic prosperity has become a symbol of failure

The mood inside the bus is grave. It is just before 3am. The passengers - burdened with suitcases, cardboard boxes, cloth bundles and flasks of green tea - have the air of prisoners of war being transported to an uncertain fate.

"When you're on the bus, you don't talk with the people you don't know in case they're with the Taliban," said 19-year-old Asadullah, an electronic spare parts dealer who, like many Afghans, uses only one name.

Asadullah and his fellow 55 passengers are taking a ride along the 483-km highway that many believe is the most dangerous stretch of road on the planet. Linking Kandahar and Kabul - Afghanistan's two largest and most economically vital cities - and completed almost five years ago, the road was meant to open a gateway to economic development and improve the quality of life for Afghans.

The US state department touted the $190m (£110m) project as "the most visible sign of America's post-war reconstruction" in Afghanistan. But today the road is a symbol of instability across the country, the failure of government and international security forces to maintain law and order, and the increasing presence of the Taliban.

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My Comment: This sounds so much like Iraq 1-5 years ago.