Taliban Gains Force Afghan Government to Rely on Warlords

As the Taliban continues to make territorial gains in Afghanistan, the government has resorted to forming militias and seeking the assistance of former warlords who dominated the country's politics before the Taliban took control in 1996.

The New York Times reports that the militias will be most active in the north of the country where the Afghan Army has suffered a series of setbacks and local police forces are nearly non-existent. It seems as though many of the individuals who led the fighting in the 90s are also the most vocally supporting efforts to form and arm the militias.

Many prominent figures from the time of the warlords were given positions in the Afghan government by the United States in an effort to co-opt any potential sources of resistance to US forces aside from the Taliban. Such figures include Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum, deputy chief executive Hajji Mohammad Mohaqiq, and Balk Province Governor Atta Muhammad Noor.

While unsavory, it appears as if the Afghan government has little recourse now that the United States and NATO have reduced and withdrawn most of their forces from the country. The head of the Afghan Army has publicly admitted to parliament that the army is unable to deploy to all of the areas of the country where it is needed.

The 320,000 strong force has suffered 1,800 casualties and seen 3,400 wounded in the first four months of 2015. That is a 65 percent increase from the same time last year.

The United States says it does not support the policy of relying on former warlords and their men to bolster the Afghan Army because it drastically increases the possibility of infighting and civil war. The United States does support the formation of local militias made up of the citizens of various towns and cities who oppose the Taliban.