Although more decentralized systems tend to be weak governments, in Afghanistan this may be an added benefit, as it would probably help reassure wary neighbors, such as Iran and Pakistan, that Afghanistan is not able to pose a threat. Decentralization, however, must not become a justification for warlordism. Perhaps the most difficult challenge will be ensuring police and other security functions without leading rivals to take up arms. Currently, Afghanistan is a violent society. A security force dominated by one community or faction will alienate other communities, making them likely to take up arms or refuse a settlement.
Several possibilities exist to resolve, or at least reduce, problems with a security force.
First, interested and impartial outsider powers could play a role. Soldiers from currently non-involved, Islamic countries, such as Egypt and Bangladesh, might be useful in providing the core of a police force. Second, a small number of current fighters from all warring groups should be integrated into a national army, as was done successfully in Mozambique. This army should be trained with a national identity and, given the difficult of imbuing it with a national esprit, limited in size. This army should not be strong, but it must be able to police Afghanistan s borders and crack down on radicals operating inside the country.