1.   Anti-Taliban forces include a loose collection of militias, led by regional warlords.

2.   As power has shifted back to the regional warlords away from Kabul, the absence of a strong central authority has brought back anarchy to southern Afghanistan.

3.   Afghan soldiers loyal to a regional warlord in Khost, Afghanistan.

4.   David was more than likely a regional warlord whose reputation as a great king grew to fit the needs of Israel.

5.   He was considered one of a few regional warlords apt to regain power as U.S. jets helped them rout the Taliban.

6.   Regional warlords are not only reluctant to surrender power over their mini-states but are expanding them.

7.   Regional warlords are reasserting themselves, posing challenges to the authority of the interim government.

8.   Regional warlords fight for territory.

9.   Since the Taliban collapsed last year, regional warlords with their own armies have been clashing throughout the country as they stake out new territory.

10.   The alliance may seem unreliable also because it is a very loose coalition of regional warlords and local commanders who have trouble coordinating their military activities.