Arms for Afghan militias

NY Times:

Taking a page from the successful experiment in Iraq, American commanders and Afghan leaders are preparing to arm local militias to help in the fight against a resurgent Taliban. But along with hope, the move is raising fears here that the new armed groups could push the country into a deeper bloodletting.

The militias will be deployed to help American and Afghan security forces, which are stretched far and wide across this mountainous country. The first of the local defense forces are scheduled to begin operating early next year in Wardak Province, an area just outside the capital where the Taliban have overrun most government authority.

If the experiment proves successful, similar militias will be set up rapidly across the country, senior American and Afghan officials said.

The formation of Afghan militias comes on the heels of a similar undertaking in Iraq, where 100,000 Sunni gunmen, many of them former insurgents, have been placed on the government payroll. The Awakening Councils, as they are known, are credited by American officials as one of the main catalysts behind the steep reduction in violence there.

But the plan is causing deep unease among many Afghans, who fear that Pashtun-dominated militias could get out of control, terrorize local populations and turn against the government. The Afghan government, aided by the Americans, has carried out several ambitious campaigns since 2001 to disarm militants and gather up their guns. A proposal to field local militias was defeated in the Afghan Senate in the fall.

“There will be fighting between Pashtuns and non-Pashtuns,” said Salih Mohammad Registani, a member of the Afghan Parliament and an ethnic Tajik. Mr. Registani raised the specter of the Arbaki, a Pashtun-dominated militia turned loose on other Afghans early in the 20th century.

“A civil war will start very soon,” he said.

The plan for the militias, approved this month by President Hamid Karzai, is being pushed forward anyway, to help stem the deteriorating security situation here. The proposal to field what amounts to lightly trained gunmen reflects the sense of urgency surrounding the fight against the Taliban, who were removed from power after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but who have staged a remarkable resurgence in recent years.

American commanders say that while they would prefer to field Afghan Army and police forces, they are simply not available.

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This appears to be the fastest way to address the force to space issue that is allowing the Taliban to move to contact. It will work is there is adequate control of the local militia similar the the Marin Combined Action Platoons of Vietnam and to some extent the way they interacted with the Iraqi militia which was basically guarding their own neighborhood.

Because they were on their own turf they knew who was supposed to be there and who was not. This became a real problem for al Qaeda as the war wore on. I think it could in Afghanistan if these guys don't try to expand their turf. They will have real incentives not to. The Combined Action Platoons can call in the supporting arms to protect them should the Taliban attack and they can also help gurad the infrastructure projects that go with such programs.

The Afghans will have to learn what the Marines mean when they say, "No better friend. No worse enemy." If they don't they will certainly learn the latter.