New Afghan strategy makes use of militias

Under the new, controversial approach, U.S. forces would scale back combat operations to focus more on training both of government forces and tribal militias. By Julian E. Barnes Los Angeles Times WASHINGTON — Confronting the prospect of failure after seven years in Afghanistan, the U.S. military is crafting a new strategy that probably will expand the power and reach of tribal militias while relying less on the increasingly troubled central government. Under the new approach, U.S. forces would scale back combat operations to focus more on training both of government forces and tribal militias. The plan is controversial because it could extend the influence of warlords while undermining the government of President Hamid Karzai in Kabul. At the same time, the new strategy could set up a rivalry between national-security units... [read full story]