Afghans Purge Hundreds of Top Cops as NATO Cheers
Originally posted in the daily news round-up and worth adding here:http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/01/top-cop-purge/
Afghan Local Police: overview
CIMIC has published an open source based review of the Afghan Local Police (ALP), alas it is too large to upload and is behind a registration "wall". Anyone who is interested please PM with an email address or register on CIMIC: https://www.cimicweb.org
The actual title is 'Village Defence: Understanding the Afghan Local Police (ALP)' and has links to sources.
CIMIC: Afghan Local Police
Jon,
The CIMIC report's conclusion hopefully answers your quest:
Quote:
The ALP is the latest attempt to establish a local defence force to help foster security throughout Afghanistan. The force is designed with particular recruitment and vetting procedures that are intended to keep local strongmen and former insurgents from infiltrating the ALP. However, the implementation of these procedures in rural village environments throughout Afghanistan has proven and will continue to prove difficult. Deploying this arbakai-based force throughout Afghanistan is a challenge. A long-standing tradition of arbakai exists only in certain parts of the country, and attempting to appeal to local population groups by establishing militias under the guise of a traditional structure is problematic. To date, some, though not all, communities have met local police efforts with distrust and scepticism, potentially exacerbating the pre-existing divide between the state and the citizenry in parts of the country. However, there are signs that this incarnation of a local police force is having some success in combating insurgents ultimately providing improved security for rural communities. Despite these successes, descriptions of misconduct by local defence initiatives are common. Navigating the blurry line between legitimate community safe-keepers and rogue militias will prove a major challenge and priority for the ALP and its overseers in the Afghan MoI and international community.
My summary: an idea that might work well and is beset with difficulties.
General Raziq the Warlord of Spin Boldak
Hat tip to Free Range International (FRI) for identifying a new source on Afghan personalities:http://www.afghan-bios.info/
FRI commented:
Quote:
Most of the content on the site seems to be provided by Afghans themselves, and although it’s quite biased sometimes, I have found most of the entries to be mostly accurate.
To illustrate I've chosen General Raziq:http://www.afghan-bios.info/index.ph...=1657&Itemid=2