General McChrystal wants to fund/arm tribal militias

The following article presents evidence revealing the make-it-up-as-you-go US military plan for Afghanistan. General McChrystal wants to fund and arm local tribal militias through his "Local Defense Initiative." There are at least three implications. One implication is that the US military in Afghanistan does not have the personnel (and perhaps know how) to win the support of local village leaders in many of the areas outside of the areas already controlled by the Taliban. The second implication is that Afghan leaders, who have a dominating influence in villages or districts and who have militias to enforce their will, are warlords. According to Milalai Joya, warlords are no better for the Afghan people than the Taliban. Their power is based on fear and coercion rather than on the interests of the local populations. The third implication is that the Afghan military and police force remain unable to protect the security of the people in many areas of the country.

Bob


Eikenberry Blocking Gen. McChrystal’s Afghan Militias Plan
Posted By Jason Ditz On January 21, 2010 @ 8:34 pm

US officials say that the inability of General Stanley McChrystal to move forward with his “Local Defense Initiative” (LDI) in Afghanistan is directly related to Ambassador Karl Eikenberry’s opposition to the program.

The LDI, in short, is a plan for the US to fund and in some cases arm tribal militias in the hopes that those groups will be able to fight the nation’s ever growing insurgency. Gen. McChrystal has hoped the plan could make up for struggling NATO efforts to increase the size of the Afghan military and police forces.

But Eikenberry expressed concern that the program was unwise until they had managed to transform the Afghan central government into a credible ruling force, as increasing the power of locals could further threaten Karzai’s tenuous reign. He also reportedly said that shoddy intelligence could mean the US was funding groups whom it was fundamentally at odds with.

Making matters worse, officials have expressed concern that the LDI could further strengthen tribal warlords, who would presumably be leading most of these forces. Afghan society is rife with corruption, and warlords are seen as no small part of that phenomenon.

Though Gen. McChrystal is under pressure to produce quick results to sell the continuation of the war to the American public, the consensus, at least among civilian administrators, is that the LDI may create even more problems than it is supposed to solve.

Article printed from News From Antiwar.com: http://news.antiwar.com/

URL to article: http://news.antiwar.com/2010/01/21/eikenberry-blocking-gen-mcchrystals-afghan-militias-plan/