U.S. Helping Anti-Taliban Militias in Afghanistan

The United States has begun helping a number of anti-Taliban militias in areas of Afghanistan in hopes for a large-scale tribal rebellion against militants, the New York Times reported.

Afghan and U.S. officials, encouraged by the emergence of such militias, were planning to spur the growth of similar armed groups across the Taliban heartland in the southern and eastern parts of the country.

Officials told the Times they are aiming for the plan, called the Community Defense Initiative, to unite gunmen and prompt them to protect their neighborhoods from militants.

The Times reported that the initiative represents one of the riskiest and most ambitious plans for taking on the Taliban.

Officials reportedly hope the endeavor would boost the number of Afghans fighting the Taliban, which may in turn supplement the number of additional forces Obama could send to the region.

The militias could also help fill the gap while the Afghan Army and police forces train and grow, The Times reported.

"The idea is to get people to take responsibility for their own security," a U.S. military official told the Times. "In many places they are already doing that."

The plan reportedly does come with risks, but officials told the Times they hope to keep it in check by tying the groups directly to the Afghan government, keeping them small and placing limits of the range of their activities.

The model is reportedly similar to one followed in Iraq in 2006 in which militias supervised by the government helped reduce violence in the region.

Read more at the New York Times