President Hamid Karzai has placed many warlords in positions of authority. Their use of informal powers has proven to be successful in areas ranging from security and reconstruction to counternarcotics.

On May 8, the Carnegie Endowment hosted a panel on "Threats to Transition in Afghanistan: Old and New" that included presentations by Ambassador Teresita Schaffer from the Center for Strategic & International Studies, William Maley from the University of New South Wales, and Marvin Weinbaum from the Middle East Institute.