This is good news, if in fact these guys want to oppose the Taliban. Boy, a 400,000 strong tribe is impressive, and 1 million dollars in aid for their loyalty is a good deal in my book. Now will they actually produce and truly run the Taliban out of town is the big question? Now would be an excellent time to keep on ODA team right there with these tribal leaders, and ensure that we get what we paid for. Some of that TET that Jim Gant was talking about. Hell, throw in a couple of shotguns as gifts, and lets fire this thing up.
I would be curious to hear what all the Afghan hands have to say about this latest deal. Also, this would be a prime opportunity to get a few folks from this tribe to help in a pseudo operations. Or they could set up a Jezailchis Scout program, and give a little capability to the tribe. The point is, if these folks are serious about joining the fight, then we should be taking full advantage of that. –Matt
Edit: Check out Tim’s post about the subject here.
—————————————————————–
Afghan Tribe to Fight Taliban in Return for Aid From U.S.
January 28, 2010
By DEXTER FILKINS
JALALABAD, Afghanistan — 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.
“The Taliban have been trying to destroy our tribe, and they are taking money from us, and they are taking our sons to fight,” said Malik Niaz, a Shinwari elder. “If they defy us now, we will defeat them.”
The pact appears to be the first in which an entire Pashtun tribe has declared war on Taliban insurgents.
But the agreement, though promising, is fragile at best. Afghan loyalties are historically fluid, and in the past the government has been unable to prevent Taliban retaliation. The agreement may also be hard to replicate, since it arose from a specific local dispute and economic tensions with the Taliban.