Lemme See Your ID Boy

The US is basically trying to create Neighborhood Watch groups in Afghanistan—only they are giving them weapons instead of telephones. I am not so sure that more weapons in an Afghan neighborhood is the answer to the problem, but scrolling down you will see one of the heroes this new effort.

Here is a part of the story from the NY Times:

MAIDAN SHAHR, Afghanistan — The ambitious American plan to arm local militias in villages across the country was coming down to a single  moment.

The American officers sat on one side of a long wooden table; a group of Afghan elders on the other. The pilot program was up and running, but the area’s big enclave of Pashtuns — the ethnic group most closely identified with the Taliban — had not sent any volunteers. The Pashtuns were worried about Taliban reprisals.

“We agreed to meet today and, I believe, make a decision,” Lt. Col. Kimo

 Gallahue told the 11 elders. “Time is running out.”

Then he laid down a challenge: “I am so proud to be in the same room with the men who defeated the Soviet Union. Please find the courage to take responsibility for your own security.”

The elders, in their turbans and beards, stared blankly at the Americans across the table. MORE