Militia Force in Shahabuddin, Northern Afghanistan Supported by Coalition

A militia force in Shahabuddin, northern Afghanistan has been supported by the coalition forces in an attempt to provide security to this geographic area.  The concept is that the force is supported by the Afghan government with weapons, ammunition and funding and supervised by Afghan police and coalition forces.  However, there are questions about the program given the past history of militias in Afghanistan.  Read more in "Plan to convert Taliban, create defense force has promise and peril", Stars and Stripes, September 29, 2010.