Arming Afghan Villagers

In January 2009, I came across a Washington Post article, In Afghanistan, Terrain Rivals Taliban as Enemy, describing the dilemma of the US military on whether or not to arm tribal elders against the Taliban. Lt. Col. Patrick Daniel, Jr., put it this way:

"For a lot of us out here, we recognize that it's much like how we feel about the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms in the States" . . . But we already have tribal disputes that are resolved by violence, and when you give them more weapons, that could mean those disputes could get resolved with those weapons. So it's a roll of the dice. Still, you can't rule it out . . . because people here need to protect themselves."

In an e-mail note I sent to a friend back then, I said that for this strategy to work, perhaps the US military could do the following: 1) educate in clearest possible terms those who will take part in this "arms program" as to the purposes, duties, and responsibilities that come with owning a gun and require everyone to express allegiance to an honor code that upholds those purposes, duties, and responsibilities; 2) on less lofty terms, offer them incentives in the form of community-based livelihood programs such as cooperatives, road-building, water purification, energy infrastructures -- programs that lead to community sustenance and development, but with a caveat -- anyone abusing or misusing the use of weapons will be removed from such programs; community-building projects create a network of individuals engaged in collaborative efforts and are held accountable to each other; 3) also, require a collateral for every gun that is given away, say a horse or something of great value to the person, especially among folks who live in remote areas and are not able to take part in community programs. All these, after all, are meant for everyone’s well-being.

I am revisiting this as yesterday another article came out, assessing this time the effectiveness of this strategy. It points out the risks involved, namely, that some of these armed militiamen are now using their weapons against other tribes for their own personal vendettas. This could get out of hand. While they serve an important role in America’s fight against the Taliban, these militias must be held accountable for their actions, at all times. There must be mechanisms for accountability as well as principles that can elevate expediency to a higher standard of justice.