US-funded Afghan militias 'beat, rob and kill with impunity'

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Telegraph

US-funded Afghan militias 'beat, rob and kill with impunity'
American-funded Afghan militias raised to protect villages from the Taliban have begun to prey on residents and in some cases are beating, robbing and even killing with impunity it is claimed.
By Ben Farmer, Kandahar
9:30PM BST 19 Jun 2011

Residents and officials warn that the rush to recruit local defence forces around Kandahar following the arrival of last year's surge of American troops had given rise to poorly-controlled armed gangs.

They listed armed robberies, thefts and assaults by the militias, saying the groups had become the main worry of many residents in the province's rural districts.

Nato commanders have long sought to harness against the Taliban the Pashtun tradition of raising local defence forces, or Arbakai, in time of need.

Proponents argue their knowledge of local people and terrain makes them formidable against an enemy that to foreign soldiers is indistinguishable from the local population.



Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/8585242/US-funded-Afghan-militias-beat-rob-and-kill-with-impunity.html

[Hissyspit]

1. And a bargain at half a trillion dollars...!

Sigh & :grr:

[Bluesbreaker]

2. CIA Veteran Rips Afghanistan Policy

Got a good article on my Al Jazeera English Twitter feed by Robert Grenier.

Here's his background:
Robert Grenier retired from the CIA in 2006, following a 27-year career in the CIA's Clandestine Service. He served as Director of the CIA Counter-Terrorism Center (CTC) from 2004 to 2006, coordinated CIA activities in Iraq from 2002 to 2004 as the Iraq Mission Manager, and was the CIA Chief of Station in Islamabad, Pakistan before and after the 9/11 attacks.

Here's the article:

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/06/201161893436499365.html?utm_content=news_AJEContentFireHose&utm_campaign=socialflowtest&utm_source=twitter&utm_term=twitter&utm_medium=tweet

[KG]

3. but just imagine how bad things would be if the US leaves...!

:eyes: