Monopoly on the use of violence
Reader comment on item: [Mujahedeen-e Khalq:] A Terrorist U.S. Ally?

Submitted by Marc Baron (Canada), May 20, 2003 at 20:09

I think part of the problem in the region has been a tendency to clanish groupings around warlords and their armed militias. This destabilizes and enforces a kind of lawlessness.

If a central government and rule of law are to be established and maintained then the government must be strong enough to impose on these groups, which implies a monopoly on the use of violence. The militia's should be disarmed and disbanded, forcefully if necessary. Useful individuals should be used as such, not as part of an armed group with it's own agenda.

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