The military will try to bring "Awakening Councils" to Afghanistan

Anna Mulrine of USNews has the story that the US is about to launch a "pilot program" aimed at raising up counter-Taleban local militias in Afghanistan, the "Afghanistan Social Outreach Program."

There are several crucial differences between Afghanistan and Iraq. Afghanistan has that history of warlordism, and these efforts will not be substantially working along tribal lines, instead trying to cobble together locals under a jirga selected leader.

There are also some historical/cultural differences with Iraq where the Sunni tribal leaders were elements of power for generations under the Baath party, and that the Iraqi Sunni insurgents were were largely working for that same leadership when they were attacking, so it involved bribing/turning that leadership. This Afghanistan effort will be trying to create local defense militias from the ground up against an enemy controlled from outside.

We'll have to wait and see. Here's hoping, though.