Grass roots militia working in Afghanistan

Time:

Fifteen months ago, coalition and Afghan forces traveling the road that slices through this rugged mountain valley, less than an hour's drive from the capital Kabul, were attacked so frequently by Taliban gunmen it was nicknamed the "Valley of Death" - one of the country's many. Today, school children walk home on the pavement and apple farmers tend their orchards without fear of firefights. Afghan officials and upbeat residents credit the remarkable turnaround to a U.S.-backed militia program that has armed and trained hundreds of local men to defend what they know best: their own turf.

When the program was launched in Wardak province last February, skeptics argued that state-sanctioned militias were a bad gamble in a country where loyalties can change with the winds. In the absence of a strong state, they warned, there was no guarantee armed groups would not cooperate with the enemy or use their enhanced power to settle old feuds along tribal or ethnic lines. Nevertheless, U.S. military planners believed that ordinary Afghans policing their own communities might be able gain the grassroots support needed to roll back the insurgency that they could not. The idea was partly inspired by the success of the "Sons of Iraq" initiative that, in tandem with a U.S. troop surge, enlisted more than 100,000 Iraqis, including many ex-insurgents, to bring a semblance of peace to that country. (See pictures of U.S. troops in Wardak province.)

At first glance, members of the so-called Afghan Provincial Protection Force - short of uniforms and armed with no more than Kalashnikov rifles - don't inspire much confidence. Some of the roughly 1,200 members are barely teenagers; others are grandfathers. But their regular foot patrols and presence at a network of new checkpoints have had a stabilizing effect on a strategically important province that is the gateway to Kabul and a critical military supply line. Muhammad Fidai, the governor of Wardak, says they are the "first reason life is safer here. That's not to say everything has been fixed overnight," he adds, "but for sure it's getting better." (Will Afghanistan's military ever be fit to fight?)

...

Counterinsurgency warfare requires an adequate force to space ratio. This type of militia with its check points makes it difficult for the enemy to move to contact without being spotted. This disruption also makes it easier for our troops and special forces to concentrate on the enemy forces. The grass roots militia works much better than the top down madel Kabul has been trying to impose. It is less influenced by corruption and also more difficult for the enemy to infiltrate.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Should Republicans go ahead and add Supreme Court Justices to head off Democrats

29 % of companies say they are unlikely to keep insurance after Obamacare

Bin Laden's concern about Zarqawi's remains