And with the quest for speed came the cars. In 2006 the number of cars on Kabul's roads was estimated at 400,000 – 100,000 more than 2005, when traffic police said the city could only cope with at most 80,000 (1) .

There are armoured cars and NGO logo emblazoned Land Cruisers riding high with tight suspensions and tinted windows. Others still barely crawl along -- yellow Soviet Era Lada and Moskvitch bound together with wire, tape and grime. And though this race is on, there are few new roads to speak of. Intersections are blocked with security barricades; two lane streets are packed four and five wide. Nobody can stand the puttering and honking gridlock but every day Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Coalition Forces, NATO troops and the Western try their best to blast through at the margins.