Psst. Afghan Warlord. Not Happy.

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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.

NEXT: Solid Tip

Jeff Taylor is a contributing editor at Reason.

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  1. 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?!

  2. Shadow Hunter

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

  3. Russ

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

  4. 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?

  5. 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...)

  6. R C Dean

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

  7. Jeff A. Taylor

    pay-OFF not pay-LOAD.

    Right? I mean.... Hello?

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

  8. 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.

  9. 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?

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