OK fair enough- now that the world is watching they probably wont ban nail polish and high heels, but still, compromises will have to be made on social policy and more restrictions will be imposed on the afghan people if radical islamists become the lawmakers. that being said, they can go many ways - join the system, indulge in the lure of money and power and fun, or try to win hearts and votes by presenting their austere image versus the lavish ways of their incumbents, push their ideology as much as they can. who knows how they will actually behave versus their intentions. could be better than we think. could be worse.

my concern is that right now alqaida and the afghan taliban operate side-by-side in the fata. lets assume that siraj haqqani becomes the new mayor of kandahar after the peace process and publicly denouncing ties with alQ. and lets assume alQ tries to return to into afghanistan and starts by funding madrassas and "development" projects in siraj's new territory. haqqani will be inclined to turn a blind eye to peripherial activities like teaching 'wiring' in PT class.
empowered BUT independent village defense forces might be a good way to keep checks and balances on the soon to be ex-bff of alQ, kind of like federalism on a local level. it is a matter of trust. as of lately karzai is under the influence of pakistan and taliban and allegedly other substances-so no wonder he his paranoid and resisting advice that may even be in his interest. just hope he is as paranoid about pakistan and taliban as he is of the village defense forces!