oskar
Are We There Yet? Member
Posts: 5,534
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Post by oskar on Feb 4, 2009 8:39:10 GMT -5
news.yahoo.com/s/a...s_afghan_village_militias US plan to arm militias scares some in Afghanistan MAIDAN SHAHR, Afghanistan - A U.S.-backed plan to create militias and give them guns to fight the Taliban is drawing criticism from local authorities in areas where the first units are being rolled out, raising questions as to whether the effort can succeed in Afghanistan. The militias have been compared to the U.S.-fostered Awakening Councils in Iraq, which have often been credited with reducing violence there, and are similar to neighboring Pakistan's tribal armies which also have been touted as a success. On Saturday, Afghanistan's interior minister announced the program had begun, and that the United States would be paying for all aspects, including buying Kalashnikov automatic rifles for members of the Afghan Public Protection Force. One skeptical Afghan official said only criminals would join because most citizens wouldn't want to face the Taliban in combat. And critics question the wisdom of handing out weapons to Afghans when the government and U.N. have been trying to reduce the number of arms in the country. They fear the plan could stoke rivalries between ethnic groups with a bloody past.
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Calluna
Super Duper Member
I think there's someone on the other side...
Posts: 1,005
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Post by Calluna on Feb 4, 2009 9:07:51 GMT -5
And what is to stop the Taliban from lining up for the weapons too? When will anyone learn that handing out weapons only comes back to bite us later when they get turned on us as soon as the winds of politics change and we're suddenly on the receiving end of our own weapons fire?
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Post by Peltigera on Feb 4, 2009 9:08:06 GMT -5
Do any off us know how the Muhajadin were able to repulse the USSR? Or how the Taliban were able to repulse the Muhajadin? Do we want to stop this cycle of violence?
While Mao was right when he said that political power grows out of the barrel of a gun, can we honestly say the either peace or democracy do?
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Post by Georgina on Feb 4, 2009 9:17:16 GMT -5
Didn't the States do something very similar to this in about '79 except targeting the Russians?
Oh, that's what you just said, right John?
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oskar
Are We There Yet? Member
Posts: 5,534
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Post by oskar on Feb 4, 2009 9:23:26 GMT -5
I wonder if Obama is aware of this or if it's one of those little details they forgot to mention.
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Pax
Are We There Yet? Member
quod erat demonstrandum.
Posts: 5,103
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Post by Pax on Feb 4, 2009 9:37:56 GMT -5
Ugh, blowback.
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