Afghan Militias Battle Taliban With Aid of U.S.

NY Times ^ | November 22, 2009 | DEXTER FILKINS

[neverdem]

ACHIN, Afghanistan — American and Afghan officials have begun helping a number of anti-Taliban militias that have independently taken up arms against insurgents in several parts of Afghanistan, prompting hopes of a large-scale tribal rebellion against the Taliban.

The emergence of the militias, which took some leaders in Kabul by surprise, has so encouraged the American and Afghan officials that they are planning to spur the growth of similar armed groups across the Taliban heartland in the southern and eastern parts of the country.

The American and Afghan officials say they are hoping the plan, called the Community Defense Initiative, will bring together thousands of gunmen to protect their neighborhoods from Taliban insurgents. Already there are hundreds of Afghans who are acting on their own against the Taliban, officials say.

The endeavor represents one of the most ambitious — and one of the riskiest — plans for regaining the initiative against the Taliban, who are fighting more vigorously than at any time since 2001.

By harnessing the militias, American and Afghan officials hope to rapidly increase the number of Afghans fighting the Taliban. That could supplement the American and Afghan forces already here, and whatever number of American troops President Obama might decide to send. The militias could also help fill the gap while the Afghan Army and police forces train and grow — a project that could take years to bear fruit.

The Americans hope the militias will encourage...

--snip--

The growth of the anti-Taliban militias runs the risk that they could turn on one another, or against the Afghan and American governments.

The Americans say they will keep the groups small and will limit the scope of their activities to protecting villages and manning checkpoints.

For now, they are not arming the groups because they already have guns...

[Art in Idaho]

So a Militia is what it takes for everyone to sit up and take notice? Hmmm. .

[lurk]

Fingerprints of Petraeus?

[MadMax, the Grinning Reaper]

Fingerprints of Colby, Lansdale, etc. from Vietnam. I saw this first hand in Hoa Hao provinces.

[DTogo]

The American and Afghan officials say they are hoping the plan, called the Community Defense Initiative, will bring together thousands of gunmen to protect their neighborhoods from Taliban insurgents. Already there are hundreds of Afghans who are acting on their own against the Taliban, officials say.

Domestically applicable?

[ksm1]

I’m thinking Petraeus is going to turn this into another Anbar 2007.

I sure hope so. We need all the force multipliers that we can get with Obama taking his merry time with McChrystal’s reinforcement plan.

[Condor51]

The NY Slimes thinks this is something new? Where were they during Vietnam? This is almost a mirror of what the SF did in creating CIDG₍₁₎ groups/camps with the locals to fight 'Charlie'. Here's a link to just one page of the CIDG Camps the SF set up in Nam.

They were very effective too₍₂₎. Which is what I 'thought' Gen. McChrystal would do once he was in country given his background as an SF Officer.

(1) 'CIDG' = Civilian Irregular Defense Group (definition at bottom of page
(2) That's why the SF is known for being a 'Force Multiplier'. Two 6 man A-Teams becomes a Company of a couple hundred

[Kenny Bunk]

The US-NATO Coalition in Afghanistan uses local politically connected "contractors," to handle logistics. This costs about $450Million per year. The "contractors," turn around and pay off the Taliban to let most of their convoys through. They also pay off the militias, and any ordinary bandits that might be left around. Membership in the above groups is rather fluid.

Of course, the "contractors" also steal. Bottom line, this is a gangster operation. We pay the guys who shoot and blow up our guys. Of course, this also happened in Vietnam, where if one needed any US gear (and even weapons) in a hurry, one could stroll over to the market and buy whatever was needed.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks neverdem.

American and Afghan officials have begun helping a number of anti-Taliban militias that have independently taken up arms against insurgents in several parts of Afghanistan, prompting hopes of a large-scale tribal rebellion against the Taliban.

"Uh-oh! My Saudi masters will be greatly alarmed! I will immediately pull out all US personnel and cut all aid to the Afghan government!"