The Problem with Going in Blind
U.S. ambassador puts brakes on plan to utilize Afghan militias against Taliban – washingtonpost.com
Afghan officials and Eikenberry have also expressed concern that unless there is a detailed plan to connect these village security forces to Ministry of Interior oversight, they could fuel the rise of warlords and undermine the already fragile government in Kabul. Another worry is that the local tribal leaders could manipulate U.S. officers who do not understand politics and tribal grievances in a particular area, said U.S. officials.
“Our level of intelligence is so lacking,” said an adviser to the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan. “We could be supporting people whose interests are not what we think they are.” Eikenberry has argued that without Afghan government support, the program could be quickly disbanded if one of the village security forces is turned by the Taliban or gets into a dispute with government security forces.
“It’s a two-edged sword,” Richard C. Holbrooke, the Obama administration’s special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, said in an interview. “One person’s community defense initiative can be another person’s warlord militia.”
Yet more evidence that we decided on a massive escalation of the conflict in Afghanistan without doing our homework. We’ll soon have 100,000 troops in country, and yet we’re still befuddled about some very basic issues.
