1.   An encounter at a checkpoint between heavily armed men representing two local warlords flared into a potentially deadly confrontation Sunday.

2.   Are commando-diplomats making deals with local warlords for them to be part of post-Taliban rule?

3.   As the crowd dispersed, relief officials said they had run low on food because shipments had been stolen by local warlords.

4.   As the crowd dispersed, relief officials said they had run low on food because aid shipments had been stolen by local warlords.

5.   Besides providing more reliable security, stationing peacekeepers throughout the country would strengthen the central government at the expense of local warlords.

6.   A major worry over the jirga has been that powerful local warlords will dominate the selection process.

7.   Adding to the danger, local warlords and bandits in some areas have filled the power vacuum left by the Taliban.

8.   But he left open the possibility that without such forces in place, the responsibility for settling disputes between local warlords could land on the U.S. military.

9.   But the Afghans insist the Americans were fed false information from a local warlord hoping to help his side in a power struggle.

10.   But they acknowledge that local warlords share some of the credit.