A frequent question that arises in regard to Afghanistan is, "What are we doing that is successful?"
Afghan Local Police - An Afghan Solution To An Afghan Problem
The US government and US media are upbeat about a new ‘uprising’ against the Taleban in its heartland in Kandahar.
The Making of Another 'Uprising': The Afghan Local Police in Panjwayi
PISHIN GAN SAYEDAN, Afghanistan — An uprising against the Taliban that began last month in this southern Afghan village has now spread through dozens of others, according to residents and Afghan and American officials, in the most significant popular turning against the Islamist insurgents in recent years.
Afghan Villagers Take On Taliban in Their Heartland
A resident of Zangabad area, Abdul Wadood, who leads the uprising, said the Taliban were not only harassing residents, but they had kept them deprived of basic facilities of life over the past many years.
Uprising against Taliban gains momentum
The 60-year-old's courage spreads through villages and on to Afghanistan forces, producing a successful model of Afghan-driven security backed by U.S. combat power.
One man's defiance inspires a region to stand up to the Taliban
[I]t's not been very well reported in the media,
Department of Defense News Briefing with Maj. Gen. Robert B. Abrams
ALP is the exit strategy.
—International civilian official, Kabul, October 9, 2010
Just Don't Call It a Militia
Americans who left the theatre watching “Zero Dark Thirty” thinking that the dark stain of torture is in our past, should be cautioned by our exit strategy in Afghanistan.
The Afghan Local Police and the U.S. exit strategy: Paying village militias
The footless corpse of an Afghan man missing since November was found on Tuesday near the former American Special Forces base to which he was last seen being taken, according to Afghan officials and victims’ representatives.
Torture Victim’s Body Is Found Near U.S. Base, Afghans Say
The ALP was approved by the Afghan government in July 2010 and established by presidential decree on August 16, 2010.
Just Don't Call It a Militia
[T]he recruiting of militiamen at the local level ha[s] always sat uneasily with Mr Karzai. It was only after much arm-twisting that he was persuaded to accept the idea of the ALP at all.
Yankee beards go home
By the tenth day of his command, Petraeus had met with Karzai for the seventh time on creating the Afghan Local Police.
All In: The Education of David Petraeus
Allegations of abuse by ALP members surfaced soon after the program began.
Just Don't Call It a Militia
"They came just after noon and collectively raped her," the villager says. “The village was so frightened no one could raise a voice against the ALP.”
Afghanistan’s Rape Crisis: Villagers Fear U.S.-Backed Militias
In April 2011, four armed ALP members in Baghlan abducted a 13-year-old boy on his way home from the bazaar and took him to the house of an ALP sub-commander where he was gang raped. He escaped the next day.
Just Don't Call It a Militia
One thing is clear: all new militia programmes, including the ALP and similar programmes that came before, have used the pool of the non-disbanded IAGs (Illegally Armed Groups) for recruitment.
Militia Disbandment and Peace Building: AAN republication of a 2008 paper
In 2010, the Sepoy tribe of the Achin region of Nangarhar province spontaneously decided to raise an anti-Taliban militia. Enthusiastically embraced by U.S. military command in Afghanistan and promised financial sponsorship, the tribes were incorporated into the Community Defense Initiative. Quickly, however, the Sepoy militias turned on a rival tribe – the Alisherkhel. Using U.S.-provided weapons and claiming to have U.S. backing, they “reclaimed” land disputed between the two tribes and triggered violence in large portions of the province.
The Afghan Local Police: "It's Local, So It Must Be Good" - Or Is It?
In June 2011, two boys were detained overnight by the ALP beaten and one of them had nails hammered into his feet while in ALP custody.
Just Don't Call It a Militia
In summary, let me restate the basic facts about the Afghan Local Police program. For all of the reasons stated above, a program of local men policing their own villages, when properly monitored against the obvious pitfalls, is a key ingredient to stabilizing Afghanistan. It is a culturally appropriate Afghan solution to an Afghan problem.
Afghan Local Police - An Afghan Solution To An Afghan Problem
"I’m afraid Afghan Local Police and arbakai are the gifts that Karzai and the U.S. are leaving for us after 13 years of occupation,” the relative says.
Afghanistan’s Rape Crisis: Villagers Fear U.S.-Backed Militias