I was watching AFN (American Forces Network) a little while ago and on one of the news channels they were talking about a new program the military has in Afghanistan. The way it works is tribal leaders will identify work that needs to be done and then gather a group of workers, usually around 60 or so, and then they will all work together to get the job done. Their reward is food. Each worker gets a bag of beans, bag of rice, and some other staple (can't remember which), along with various spices. The US military is there securing the area and providing the food and Afghan police are in the truck distributing the food.

They said the purpose of the program is to give the people a sense of pride and accomplishment as well as make themselves self-sufficient, instead of just receiving a welfare handout. The people have really responded to the program and it is going quite well.

This reminds me of something else. It's a lot like taking someone who is a Democrat and turning him into a Republican.