U.S. military to fund Afghan militias to get them to fight the Taliban

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The Wall Street Journal reports the United States is planning to start funding local Afghan militias to fight the Taliban in remote parts of Afghanistan. The first US-funded militias will be established in Wardak Province in eastern Afghanistan. The plan is based on a similar model used in Iraq. If the effort in Wardak is successful, US commanders hope to create more militias in other parts of Afghanistan in early 2009. The militia push is controversial. Afghan President Hamid Karzai vetoed an earlier American proposal to create local militias, because he feared they might one day fall under the sway of regional warlords. Canadian Defense Minister Peter MacKay has publicly opposed the initiative saying it would be counterproductive.

DemocracyNow reports: http://www.democracynow.org/2008/12/23/headlines


related:

U.S. Military Launches 'Afghanistan Social Outreach Program' - Sponsoring Afghan Militants

The plan is modeled in part on a similar program in Iraq to build up Sunni neighborhood militias. But officials warn that the forces must be carefully vetted to avoid repeating the mistakes of Afghanistan's past, notably bolstering local warlords.

For months, Congress has been asking how soon the military could roll out "some sort of Awakening movement"—a reference to the Iraq program—in Afghanistan, according to U.S. officials. After initially being rejected by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, the plan was developed this fall and approved just over two weeks ago.

The new program in Afghanistan, tentatively dubbed the Afghanistan Social Outreach Program, has a number of backers. Two weeks ago, it was approved by President Karzai, with the endorsement of the ministers of interior and defense. "There is common agreement among the Afghan leadership, people, and international forces that there needs to be a bottom-up approach to security and progress in this country, as well as a top-down central government approach," says Gen. David McKiernan, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

As in Iraq, the Afghan forces would be on the U.S. payroll, which officials hope will also entice some former insurgents to work with NATO forces. "We bring money so we can hire young men to be the first line of defense" in small towns throughout Afghanistan, says a senior U.S. military official in Kabul. "We wouldn't be surprised if some of them used to be insurgents. We figure this is a way to crack the nut."

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