“The leaders of one of the largest Pashtun tribes in a Taliban stronghold agreed to support the American-backed government, battle insurgents, and burn down the home of any Afghan who harbors Taliban guerrillas, leaders of the tribe said yesterday. Elders from the Shinwari tribe, which represents about 400,000 people in southeastern Afghanistan, also pledged to send at least one military-age male in each family to the Afghan Army or the police in the event of a Taliban attack. In exchange for their support, American commanders agreed to channel $1 million in development projects directly to the tribal leaders and bypass the local Afghan government, which is widely seen as corrupt.” (01/28/10)