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Upon her return from the CODEL to Afghanistan, Rep. Shea-Porter said"I believe our best chance for success depends on the local tribes' willingness to defend their own backyard."
Well, tonight it looks as if General Petraeus has a similar plan in mind:
Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his national security team endorsed a U.S.-backed plan Wednesday to set up local police forces around the country, allowing villagers to protect themselves in areas where international and Afghan forces can't be spared.
...NATO officials declined to publicly comment on the program, even though NATO Commander Gen. David Petraeus has been intimately involved in discussions about it in recent days at the presidential palace.
Shea-Porter issued a release on this news (posted in full below the fold), including:
"I have consistently said that local defense initiatives by Afghan tribal leaders and villagers are critical to success in Afghanistan," said Congresswoman Shea-Porter. "I am pleased that this new community police program will rely on local Afghans defending themselves, and I am hopeful that this will enable Afghans, from the village level up, to take increasing responsibility for their own defense.
Finally, here's a priceless shot of NH's finest from Carol's latest trip:
It's CSP Week on BH. Learn more here about it. Get involved, and give what you can.
Shea-Porter Statement on Petraeus Plan for Afghan Villagers to Fight Taliban
WASHINGTON, DC - Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter, a member of the Armed Services Committee, released the following statement on the agreement that General David Petraeus struck with Afghan President Hamid Karzai to establish community police forces in Afghan villages to protect them from the Taliban. Since her first trip to Afghanistan last year, Shea-Porter has been urging the US Government to adopt this strategy.
"I have consistently said that local defense initiatives by Afghan tribal leaders and villagers are critical to success in Afghanistan," said Congresswoman Shea-Porter. "I am pleased that this new community police program will rely on local Afghans defending themselves, and I am hopeful that this will enable Afghans, from the village level up, to take increasing responsibility for their own defense. Local forces can provide effective protection for small or isolated Afghan communities where the military is absent, which is most of Afghanistan."
Last week, Shea-Porter led a Congressional Delegation (CODEL) to Afghanistan. This was the first House Delegation to meet with General David Petraeus in his new role as Commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Commander of U.S. Forces Afghanistan (USFOR-A). Upon returning from Afghanistan, Shea-Porter said, "I believe our best chance for success depends on the local tribes' willingness to defend their own backyard."
