The Afghanistan Awakening

After the much-lauded success of a similar program in the Anbar Province of Iraq, the United States will begin funding the Afghan government’s recruitment of local militias in its fight against the Taliban. The program will begin in Wardak Province in eastern Afghanistan, and will spread to other provinces if successful. “The militia push,” reports The Wall Street Journal, “is part of a growing American effort to bypass the struggling Afghan central government and funnel resources to Afghan villages and provinces.” Afghan President Hamid Karzai vetoed an earlier attempt by the United States to bolster regional militias.