Psst. Afghan Warlord. Not Happy.

Abdul Rashid Dostum, the Uzbek warlord who helped kick out the Taliban but does not have a formal role in the post-Taliban Afghan government, has his forces on the rampage in Faryab province. Expect the fighting to die down as soon as the U.S. promises a bigger payoff for Dostum.

Comments

[Damn it all, already!]

What year is this? 2004?
And there are still "warlords" in the world?
Warlords who are our allies?
What the fuck?!

[Shadow Hunter]

If it makes you feel better, call him the owner of a private protection agency.

[Russ]

He's just another American contractor fucked out of his pension.

[Ruthless]

Memo to Dostum: Do you have any tourists stupid enough to be in Uzbek? Are they from the US or Japan? And you're looking for a bigger payoff?

But you already thought of that, didn't you?

[David T]

This Dostum guy is a real prize, all right...
http://www.freemasonrywatch.org/dostum.html
(Yes, I'd be suspicious of any web site with that name, too, but the *National Post* article they reprint seems authentic...)

[R C Dean]

If it is GPS-guided, then I am all in favor of giving the warlord a bigger payoff.

[Jeff A. Taylor]

pay-OFF not pay-LOAD.

Right? I mean.... Hello?

Well, cheaper in the long-run but still.....

[Fort Liberty]

Beware of media slant guys.

What makes Dostum less legitimate than Karzai?

Dostum is a local leader, chosen by his people.

Karzai is just a puppet, even if he is *our* puppet.

This is all about local politics, and Karzai is smart enough to keep his mouth shut and his options open.

We should be as wise.

[M. Simon]

Not to worry. He is a libertarian.

After all he privatized the security function didn't he? No need for government where he provides security. And courts too. And you can grow opium.

I wonder how much he charges. Maybe he works on a sliding scale.

This is so cool. Afghanistan is going libertarian. Do the people with the Free State Project know this?