DARPA's answer, of course, will be to go down the military route.
It is one of the highest human settlements in Tirah, overlooking both a Pakistani military supply route to the border with Afghanistan in the north, and the Taliban-infested Orakzai region in the south.
Twice he made the dangerous journey down the Ho Chi Minh Trail, which was the main military supply route from the North through the Laotian panhandle to the South during the American phase of Vietnam's wars of independence.
Speaking on board a US military plane en route to the two-day Nato meeting, Mr Gates said the new US administration was "prepared... to make additional commitments to Afghanistan, but there clearly will be expectations that the allies must do more as well".
Meanwhile, the United States said it was tracking a Russian military cargo ship en route to Syria that is carrying weapons, ammunition and a small number of Russian troops.
As a security precaution, the military refused to say what route the plane is taking or where it will stop.
Military officials will not disclose the actual route of the flight as a precaution.
The route will be lined with military personnel as well as what are expected to be huge crowds.
Transport Scotland said the relief route, which uses the Old Military Road, could be completed this week.
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"When I decided to open a direct air route, my proposal was opposed by the military, " he told the visitors.
The last military-industrial stop on my personal itinerary is off Route 44 in Taunton, Massachusetts where I pass near four buildings owned by General Dynamics in the Myles Standish Industrial Park.
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Former military personnel will be offered bursaries for teacher training and a fast-track route if they lack degree-level qualifications.
Hundreds of troops lined the route to Caracas as a convoy of armoured security trucks escorted by military vehicles carried the bullion to the bank.
Members of the three armed services, military bands and huge crowds of flag-waving well-wishers lined the route as the royals made their way from a reception in the City of London to a formal lunch at Westminster Hall.
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Vershbow said that although it is still unclear who fired on the group, it is now clear that the convoy deviated from a route out of Baghdad that was coordinated with the U.S. military.
The proliferation of these signals has led Western intelligence to closely monitor passengers and equipment traveling along the Tehran-Damascus-Caracas route, coming to the conclusion that it is often intelligence officials, military officers and materials banned by the UN.
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The first two bathrooms and their escorts will take a circuitous route through the borough to Brighton Beach, where plans call for using a military vehicle to tow the trailers out along fortified stretches of sand to the concrete pilings that will be their permanent homes.
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Georgian security officials this week said they had seized a large batch of arms en route to Chechnya sold by soldiers from one of Russia's own military bases in Georgia.
Countries along the northern exit route may also have an opportunity to bargain with Washington about acquiring some used, nonlethal military hardware to Central Asian nations "remains an option, but it is premature to speculate on what, if anything, might be provided, " a State Department spokeswoman said.
In his remarks while en route to Israel, Hagel repeatedly emphasized Israel's right of self-defense and stressed that military force by implication, Israeli or American remains an option of last resort.
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