| Afghanistan's new US-trained army is a match for any of the warlord militias which control much of the country, an American general said on Saturday. The Afghan National Army, built up under American guidance since the fall of the Taliban in late 2001, now numbers some 13,000 men, Brig. Gen. Thomas Mancino said. "I can tell you that the current Central Corps is well-trained, well-equipped, professional and able to defeat any regional force," Mancino told reporters. The general didn't identify any of the forces that could confront the new Afghan army, whose main Central Corps includes artillery and armoured units as well as infantry. But his remark comes days after President Hamid Karzai said that "warlordism" was a bigger threat to the country than Taliban insurgents and announced a tougher approach with warlords resisting disarmament. |