The Torch: Afstan: Not militias but the "Afghan Public Protection Force"

The idea of forming local militias (with the Iraq experience much in mind) to hold off the Talbian has been controversial, including CF doubts--see this post just before the Update. This what is now actually being done:

A U.S.-funded program to train and arm community members in Afghanistan's most dangerous regions as a way to defend against the Taliban has begun, the country's interior minister said Saturday.

The U.S. will provide funds to arm the community force with the same weapons used by Afghan police — Kalashnikov rifles, said Interior Ministry Mohammad Hanif Atmar.

The program has already begun, but Atmar refused to say where, citing security concerns. Other officials have said the program will begin in Wardak, an increasingly dangerous province on the southwest side of Kabul.

"After training they will have the responsibility of protecting the people, providing security for the highways, schools, clinics and other government institutions," Atmar told a news conference.

Afghan and Western officials have struggled to fight the perception that they are creating regional militias, and officials are even sensitive over the name used to describe the program. Atmar said the program is called the Afghan Public Protection Force.

Critics note that the program will put more weapons into Afghan hands, reversing years of government efforts to reduce the number of arms around the country.

"I should say that these units are not militias, they are not guards," Atmar said. "They are official units of the Interior Ministry. We shouldn't use any other names for these units. We don't have in mind anything like a militia or arming militias."

Atmar said the top U.S. general in the country, Gen. David McKiernan, supports the program.

U.S. Ambassador William Wood, at a news conference in late December, said the U.S. was interested in promoting Afghan communities, and noted Afghan villagers have defended themselves throughout history.

Wood at the time denied the U.S. would be providing weapons for the program. The U.S. Embassy had no immediate comment on Saturday.

The tactic of engaging local Afghan communities is endorsed by Gen. David Petraeus — the former top U.S. commander in Iraq whose outreach to Sunni sheiks helped oust al-Qaida-inspired militants from key areas and sharply decreased attacks.

Petraeus, who now oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, told The Associated Press late last year that Afghanistan has not had a tradition of a strong central government extending far into provinces and districts.