Delivering anything to Afghanistan is a "logistical nightmare," but the cost of delivering fuel to U.S. troops "is likely to play into the escalating debate in Congress" over whether to send additional forces to support the war, the Hill reports. The gas itself costs less than $3, but poor infrastructure, choppy terrain, and roadside attacks have driven up the cost of delivering it to the landlocked country to $400 per gallon, according to a Pentagon estimate. "It is a number that we were not aware of and it is worrisome," Rep. John Murtha, chairman of the House appropriations defense subcommittee, tells the Hill. The statistic emerged from a Pentagon report showing that each thousand troops sent to Afghanistan costs the government $1 billion.

slatest.slate.com/id/2232644/entry/2/

Maybe if we had better relations with the Russians or the Chinese . . .