Watchdog reports how U.S. paid millions of dollars to brutal WARLORDS,

When the Taliban gained ground against international forces in Afghanistan in 2004, Washington’s leaders made a major policy shift, putting the Pentagon in charge of the country’s new police forces.

According to a damning new report, the result was a disastrous’militarization’ of the Afghan police, with brutal warlords in charge of security and ensuring they received millions of dollars in US funding despite human rights abuses.

Among them was Abdul Raziq, lauded by American commanders for bringing stability to the Taliban-infested Kandahar, despite being accused of murder and torture.

The paper reveals how the United States’ emphasis on counter-terrorism forced Afghan police to battle the Taliban and al-Qaeda rather than fight crime.

‘As a result of this policy shift, the Afghan police force became increasingly militarized, and its focus shifted away from arresting common criminals and gangsters who threatened the everyday lives of Afghan citizens,’ writes John Sopko, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction appointed by Congress.

‘This militarization, along with the U.S. focus on counterinsurgency operations, ended up empowering and supporting warlords-turned-police chiefs who were tactically proficient in fighting, but who were also known to be human rights abusers and criminals.’

According to Sopko, ordinary Afghans swiftly lost faith in the police force’s ability to protect them.