A new direction in Afghanistan... - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Slims · 07-03-2010, 09:31 AM

Below is an interesting article from the Wall Street Journal describing recent efforts to enlist the local populations in ungoverned areas of Afghanistan to begin defending themselves in order to create the stability necessary for prosperity.

It is an interesting approach and has been met with enormous initial success. Any thoughts or comments are welcome.

"RABAT, Afghanistan—The men of this remote village, dressed in crisp beige uniforms and armed with Kalashnikovs, are defending their land against the Taliban, in a U.S. Special Forces-driven experiment that is set to spread nationwide.

New legislation, hammered out by American and Afghan officials and expected to be enacted by President Hamid Karzai in coming weeks, would authorize armed village forces across Afghanistan and bring them into the country's law-enforcement system.

The strategy, long advocated by U.S. Special Operations commanders, aims to provide a grass-roots counterbalance to the insurgents and fill a security vacuum in swaths of rural Afghanistan that .."

Obviously this is just an excerpt, Google has cached the full version (below link) and I have included the link to the article on WSJ which only displays a portion of the article but has a photo gallery available.

U.S. Enlists New Afghan Village Forces - WSJ.com

U.S. Enlists New Afghan Village Forces - WSJ.com

remy1492 · 07-04-2010, 12:31 AM

Well I tell ya, in the 9th inning anything is welcome.

Will we be crossing the Friendship Bridge in a few years?
(soviet exodus)

raging moderate · 07-04-2010, 02:36 PM

I think we should have done this from the beginning. if we are going to feign interest in their well-being, we should actually involve them in the proceedings.

Slims · 07-31-2010, 09:04 AM

I know this is more or less a dead thread, but anyone who is interested in the way ahead in Afghanistan should also check out this article:

http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/...AND_MG1002.pdf

It is an article written by Seth Jones (Author of The Graveyard of Empires) and is a fairly comprehensive look at the creation of tribal forces opposed to the taliban.

07-03-2010, 09:31 AM	#1 (permalink)
Slims Eccentric insomniac Location: North Carolina	A new direction in Afghanistan... Below is an interesting article from the Wall Street Journal describing recent efforts to enlist the local populations in ungoverned areas of Afghanistan to begin defending themselves in order to create the stability necessary for prosperity. It is an interesting approach and has been met with enormous initial success. Any thoughts or comments are welcome. "RABAT, Afghanistan—The men of this remote village, dressed in crisp beige uniforms and armed with Kalashnikovs, are defending their land against the Taliban, in a U.S. Special Forces-driven experiment that is set to spread nationwide. New legislation, hammered out by American and Afghan officials and expected to be enacted by President Hamid Karzai in coming weeks, would authorize armed village forces across Afghanistan and bring them into the country's law-enforcement system. The strategy, long advocated by U.S. Special Operations commanders, aims to provide a grass-roots counterbalance to the insurgents and fill a security vacuum in swaths of rural Afghanistan that .." Obviously this is just an excerpt, Google has cached the full version (below link) and I have included the link to the article on WSJ which only displays a portion of the article but has a photo gallery available. U.S. Enlists New Afghan Village Forces - WSJ.com U.S. Enlists New Afghan Village Forces - WSJ.com __________________ "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." - Winston Churchill "All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act out their dream with open eyes, to make it possible." Seven Pillars of Wisdom, T.E. Lawrence

07-04-2010, 02:36 PM	#3 (permalink)
raging moderate Insane Location: Whatever house my keys can get me into	I think we should have done this from the beginning. if we are going to feign interest in their well-being, we should actually involve them in the proceedings. __________________ These are the good old days... formerly Murp0434

07-31-2010, 09:04 AM	#4 (permalink)
Slims Eccentric insomniac Location: North Carolina	I know this is more or less a dead thread, but anyone who is interested in the way ahead in Afghanistan should also check out this article: http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/...AND_MG1002.pdf It is an article written by Seth Jones (Author of The Graveyard of Empires) and is a fairly comprehensive look at the creation of tribal forces opposed to the taliban. __________________ "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." - Winston Churchill "All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act out their dream with open eyes, to make it possible." Seven Pillars of Wisdom, T.E. Lawrence

07-04-2010, 12:31 AM	#2 (permalink)
remy1492 Crazy Location: CA TX LU	Well I tell ya, in the 9th inning anything is welcome. Will we be crossing the Friendship Bridge in a few years? (soviet exodus)