Challenges to Nation-Building in Afghanistan continues.....

The US forces and its allies in 2001 were to fight the remnants of the Taleban and Al-Qaida, in, what some commentators increasingly refer to as, a guerilla war with no indication of an early end to the campaign. In addition, there were growing tensions between rival warlords who formed part of the new administration. Warlordism remained widespread and the warlords were strongly back on the forefront.

Those like Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, Muhammad Fahim, Abdul Rashid Dostum to name a few, continued to maintain their private armies and reaped profit from the vast illegal opium trade. Karzai’s position remained relatively weak, although

he was the choice of the international community. The Northern Alliance agreed to his appointment most probably because he did not have a militia and hence had little individual power to impose his will on those who retained private armies. Although Karzai drew his strength from the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) present in the country, these forces on the other hand have relied on independent warlords for help hunting down remnants of the Taleban and the Al Qaeda.

This dual strategy has strengthened warlords while eroding the already weak central authority. Warlords like Fahim, who later became defense minister blatantly, ignored the Bonn Agreement when he refused to remove his private troops from Kabul at the time. ISAF were deployed there in late 2001and it was evident that the ISAF concentrated more in hunting remnants of the Taleban and Al-Qaeda. In the rural areas, the power of the warlords remains real, despite their declining ability to control entire regions in a homogeneous way.

The patron/client networks on which their power is based are still alive. Only the establishment of a reliable and neutral army capable of operating throughout the national territory would create the possibility of finally weakening the hold of the warlords over their followers, by reducing the demand for security among the population. However, such a development is going to take years and by no means can be taken for granted. In fact, some warlords have been trying to seize control of the new army since its formation.