The Los Angeles Times has an article about how local tribes in the Swat Valley, a former stronghold for the Taliban and other terrorists, have begun handling security to keep such militants out of the area.For all the talk that Iraq and Afghanistan are different, this is remarkably similar to what happened in Anbar Province, where a combination of a local uprising and military offensive decisively changed the situation.
In the village of Kanju in Swat Valley, the tribal militia has only been working for 40 days, and has captured 250 militants. This reinforces the fact that any counter-insurgency campaign must involve the locals, who know the terrain, culture, and personal relationships in the area far better than soldiers from outside the area.
The report notes that such militias are forming in South Waziristan as well. For all the justifiable criticism of Pakistan, it seems they have learned from our success in Iraq better than we have. While the U.S. government is taking a prolonged period of time to decide how to move forward in Afghanistan, Pakistan has already made the decision to apply the counter-insurgency lessons we used successfully.
Source: World Threats
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