GRAPHICS

The U.S. Northern Distribution Network to Afghanistan

Oct 14, 2011 | 20:29 GMT

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(Stratfor)

The Unites States currently uses two major routes for the transportation of non-lethal goods and fuel into Afghanistan. The first begins at the Pakistani port city of Karachi, entering Afghanistan from the southern Chaman pass and the northern Khyber Pass. The second route is the Northern Distribution Network (NDN), which is currently divided into four sections: North, South, East and Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan. Currently, the United States transports 50 percent of all non-lethal goods and 60 percent of its fuel through the NDN. However, strained U.S.-Pakistani relations and the constant threat against the Pakistani transportation routes have Washington considering increasing its reliance on the NDN, with Pentagon officials aiming to ship 75 percent of all Afghan-bound cargo through the NDN and possibly 100 percent by mid-2012.