The route by which the material of the French army leave Afghanistan becomes clearer.

The southern route via Pakistan, now seems impractical for political reasons - the relations between the U.S. and Pakistan are at their worst.

That leaves the northern route through Russia. Things are not yet buckled but take shape. The idea would be that all materials will be conditioned to Warehouse (Kabul) and transported in Uzbekistan.From there, he embark on Russian trains bound for the Baltic countries (Lithuania and Latvia), then through Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Russia. As a guide, it takes about three days to reach Moscow from Central Asia. This is a long journey, with many borders to cross, the local sensitivities to be struck, and precautions. From the Baltic coast, equipment and vehicles will embark on ships bound for France - probably Toulon.

The main question is: how to leave Kabul to join Central Asia? By road or by air? The hypothesis is the most economical road, but the most dangerous. Road convoys are threatened throughout the course by the insurgents, not counting the "simple" physical difficulties. The road passes including the Salang tunnel, which the Soviets which have lost hundreds of men in 1982, probably as a result of an attack ...The land route would require significant resources protection (helicopters, drones, tanks, infantry) that would be quite difficult to ask our allies.

Solution remains the airline with the rental of Antonov 124, which would make an air bridge to neighboring Uzbekistan (an early flight), with two daily round trips by air. This solution is expensive, is much safer. It would nevertheless be cheaper than flights to the UAE, where the break would be to load the boats. The flight hour costs about 124 Year 25 000 dollars ...

This road, through the UAE, will nevertheless be used for part of the material more sensitive than the French military did not necessarily want to see walking on Russian railways.

Anyway, the Russian option requires political management of the case. Clearly, this is not the time to be angry with Moscow on other issues. For example, Syria