Crossing Afghanistan along the 'highway of death'

Highway 1, or the Ring Road, connects Afghanistan's major cities. After September 11, 2001, it became a hotspot for crime and fighting, particularly between the capital Kabul and Kandahar, the Taliban's birthplace. People taking it had to navigate extortions, kidnappings and suicide bombings. What has become of the road after the US-led war and five years of Taliban rule? Our…