Our top "story you missed" this year was that the U.S. was already boosting its troop levels and building permanent infrastructure in Afghanistan, in a manner similar to the Iraqi "surge". As we noted, though, no one had yet taken steps to engage local militias and former insurgents, a key component of counterinsurgency strategy. That may now be changing:
The U.S. military will soon launch a pilot program to raise local
militias, paid by the Pentagon, in an effort to improve security
throughout the country. [...]
The new program in Afghanistan, tentatively dubbed the Afghanistan
Social Outreach Program, has a number of backers. Two weeks ago, it was
approved by President Karzai, with the endorsement of the ministers of
interior and defense. "There is common agreement among the Afghan
leadership, people, and international forces that there needs to be a
bottom-up approach to security and progress in this country, as well as
a top-down central government approach," says Gen. David McKiernan, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
As in Iraq, the Afghan forces would be on the U.S. payroll, which
officials hope will also entice some former insurgents to work with
NATO forces. "We bring money so we can hire young men to be the first
line of defense" in small towns throughout Afghanistan, says a senior
U.S. military official in Kabul. "We wouldn't be surprised if some of
them used to be insurgents. We figure this is a way to crack the nut."
The two tribal situations couldn't be more different, so I wouldn't get too optimistic about Gates and Petraeus pulling another one out of the hat. But it's another sign that Obama might have a head start on his Afghanistan strategy.
(Hat tip: Small Wars Journal)
Photo: DAVID FURST/AFP/Getty Images
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