KEY POINTS:
KABUL - The United States general in charge of training the Afghan police has criticised British-backed plans to arm local militias in an attempt to defeat the Taleban.
The remarks by Major-General Robert Cone, the second most senior US soldier in Afghanistan, are likely to deepen the row between London and Washington over how to counter the insurgency.
Cone, who is in charge of rebuilding the Afghan police force, is the second US commander to condemn the initiative. He said: "Anything that detracts from a professional, well-trained, well-led police force is not the answer."
Last month, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Britain would increase its support for "community defence initiatives, where local volunteers are recruited to defend homes and families modelled on traditional Afghan arbakai".
The arbakai system involves arming untrained men, who agree to come running at the beating of a drum if their village elders feel threatened.
British diplomats and military strategists in the restive southern province of Helmand hope the idea might bolster Afghanistan's fledgling police force, which is unable to defend itself against attacks by Taleban insurgents. At least 10 officers died yesterday in a Taleban attack on a checkpoint in Kandahar.
But US officials fear that arbakai fighters would fall under the command of warlords disloyal to the Afghan Government.
- INDEPENDENT
