Dexter Filkins’ story about the recent flipping of one large and powerful tribe in Afghanistan is generating a lot of buzz – with some touting the conversion as the first stage in a recreation of the Sons of Iraq program which established alliances with Sunni elements against al-Qaeda in Iraq. However, there are concerns raised that the alliance is more short-lived and opportunistic than durable, that it will be hard to replicate, that the concessions were won at the expense of the authority and legitimacy of the central government and that there are moral issues raised by the tactics employed by our putative allies. From the Filkins article – emphasis added:
The leaders of one of the largest Pashtun tribes in a Taliban stronghold said Wednesday that they had agreed to support the American-backed government, battle insurgents and burn down the home of any Afghan who harbored Taliban guerrillas.
Elders from the Shinwari tribe, which represents about 400,000 people in eastern Afghanistan, also pledged to send at least one military-age male in each family to the Afghan Army or the police in the event of a Taliban attack.
In exchange for their support, American commanders agreed to channel $1 million in development projects directly to the tribal leaders and bypass the local Afghan government, which is widely seen as corrupt.
Joshua Foust is appropriately snarky:
Ahh, so the U.S. is undermining the Afghan government and encouraging mob violence, all in the name of supporting the Afghan government and deligitimizing the Taliban. Get it? [...]
What does America do when it ends up funding the arson of [Taliban-]supporting civilians, since technically communal punishment is a war crime? [...]
Via Gregg Carlstrom, last year Human Rights Watch examined the use of the “burn the homes of your enemies” tactic in Chechnya. It backfired, badly.
Just remember kids, we’re in Afghanistan to liberate and protect the Afghan people, and to leave would be to abandon the Afghan people. At least those who aren’t turned to charcoal by our allies, perhaps with the incindiery devices purchased with our money. Gotta burn down a house to save it and all.
Related posts:
You might find some context for the Filkins story if you peruse:
http://abcnews.go.com/PollingUnit/afghanistan-abc-news-national-survey-poll-show-support/story?id=9511961
which is the latest public poll taken in Afghanstan since the elections.
Indicates a major shift in optimism, support for government, for the surge, and for negotiations with Taliban IF they stop violence.
It is evidence to suggest that the surge might be coming at the right time to hasten the “tipping point” exactly as happened in Iraq.
If Obama gets the same outcome as Bush did, then it will help his approval ratings with the independents no end. Am surprised you are not more supportive.