Arms Purchases Are Soaring In Afghanistan

A coalition force member demonstrates weapons tactics to Afghan national police during weapons training in western Afghanistan's Farah province, Dec. 12, 2012. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Pete Thibodeau

Insight: Afghans Turn To AK-47, Fearing Taliban Return Or Civil War -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Afghan father-of-four Mohammad Nasir has a secret he's been keeping from his family.

The aid worker pulls a television bench out from the living-room wall of his Kabul home. Behind it is a carved out shelf, hiding what he hopes will keep loved ones safe when Western troops withdraw by the end of 2014 -- an AK-47 assault rifle.

Arms purchases are soaring in Afghanistan, along with the price of weapons, a sign that many Afghans fear a return of the Taliban, civil war or rising lawlessness.

An assault rifle cost $400 a year ago. Today, some arms dealers are selling them for triple the price.

And it's not just ordinary Afghans who are buying. Warlords who control militias, and former anti-Soviet mujahideen fighters are also boosting the trade.

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My Comment: Not exactly a vote of confidence in the future.