In the most recent RFE-RL Daily Afghan Report, Tanya Goudsouzian reports on a new plan to allow traditional Afghan customs to govern security in the southern part of the country. Tribal militias would control the border regions and apply traditional penalties for infractions. The article also indicated this was aimed at breaking the power of the regional warlords. Given the state of the Afghan government's institutions, this move makes a great deal of sense. I also like the fact they're looking to see what can develop from existing customs rather than simply try to transplant Western models into a context in which they are unlikely to work. I'm unsure, however, how Karzai plans to get all the tribes onto the same page, and also wonder if some of these tribes might actually be on the Taliban's side. The article was interesting, and I recommend reading the whole thing.