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Afghans Uneasy With US Plan to Fund Militias

Strategy imported from Iraq prompts local fears of civil war

By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff

Posted Dec 24, 2008 9:43 AM CST
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(Newser) – As the US military and Afghan government prepare to arm local militias against the resurgent Taliban, many Afghans are uneasy, fearing that militias formed along ethnic lines could spiral out of control and turn on citizens, reports the New York Times. The plan, which steals a page from the Awakening Councils in Iraq, will begin operating near Kabul next year.

In Iraq, the 100,000 Sunni gunmen who formed the so-called Awakening Councils helped the collapsing country regain stability. Yet as commander David Petraeus arrives in Afghanistan, many are skeptical that a similar militia will reverse the country's deteriorating security situation. "There will be fighting between Pashtuns and non-Pashtuns," warned one Afghan MP.  "A civil war will start very soon."

President George W. Bush walks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, Dec. 15, 2008.
President George W. Bush walks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, Dec. 15, 2008.   (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
Afghan President Hamid Karzai, center, listens to a participant during a memorial ceremony for three Afghans who were killed last week during a raid by U.S. forces west of Kabul, Afghanistan.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai, center, listens to a participant during a memorial ceremony for three Afghans who were killed last week during a raid by U.S. forces west of Kabul, Afghanistan.   (AP Photo/Nashanuddin Khan)
An elderly Afghan man collects dried branches to use for firewood on the outskirts of Herat city southwest of Kabul, Afghanistan, on Dec. 23, 2008.
An elderly Afghan man collects dried branches to use for firewood on the outskirts of Herat city southwest of Kabul, Afghanistan, on Dec. 23, 2008.   (AP Photo/Fraidoon Pooyaa)
Afghans in military uniform walk a muddy road in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2008.
Afghans in military uniform walk a muddy road in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2008.   (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq)
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Afghanistan • Taliban • David Petraeus • US military • militia • Afghan militias

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