Afghanistan: May 18, 2004

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  The militia disarmament program has officially begun. A pilot program, to work out the details, disarmed 6,320 soldiers and militiamen. The full program expects to disarm 33,000 more by the Fall, and the rest in 2005. While the soldiers and militiamen must turn in their rifles in return for cash and job training, weapons are cheap and easily obtained in Afghanistan. Anyone with a lot of cash, like a drug gang, can quickly form a heavily armed militia of experienced fighters. Not soldiers, but guys with guns who are willing to use them to terrorize and dominate large numbers of civilians. 

 

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