Afghan president gives nod to local police forces

[unhappycamper]

Afghan president gives nod to local police forces
By DEB RIECHMANN
Associated Press Writer
Jul 15, 2:35 AM EDT

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his national security team endorsed a U.S.-backed plan to set up local police forces around the country, allowing villagers to protect themselves in areas where international and Afghan forces can't be spared.

The new Local Police Force initiative will be overseen by the Afghan government. That was a key demand of Karzai who fears that simply arming villagers without government oversight would essentially create local militias that could undermine his administration and possibly fuel a new civil war.

Karzai's office offered no details about the plan, other than a statement released Wednesday evening saying the Local Police Force would be under the direct supervision of the Interior Ministry.

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said the plan was designed to fill the gaps in security in remote areas and empower opponents of Taliban domination to fight back - while also providing jobs.

"This is about putting locals to work, so that they can be on watch in their communities, for people who shouldn't be there, and then work with the established security organizations - the army, the police, the coalition - to make sure (insurgents) don't menace their communities," Morrell told reporters Wednesday in Washington.

[w8liftinglady]

1. I see a trend ...soon we won't hear anything but roses...

which would thrill me,in a way.We could then leave Afghanistan with our consciences intact...at least for a while.No telling what it will cost us (USA) to make this deal...we already have paid 10-20 billion a year to train Afghan police.Feel free to read how THAT turned out...
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/2010/sigar-audit-10-11.pdf