KABUL, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Moving to fend off dissent from a powerful potential foe, new Afghan leader Hamid Karzai on Monday appointed ethnic Uzbek warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum as deputy defense minister in his two-day-old government.
The appointment on the day the cabinet members entered their new ministries for the first time marked the start of the establishment of a national army for Afghanistan, Defense Minister Mohammad Fahim said.
Karzai, who turned 44 Monday, faces the daunting task of rebuilding a failed state in which his authority on the ground barely reaches beyond the capital Kabul.
The mystery over the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden and leaders of the ousted Taliban who protected him is an added complication in a country plagued by rivalries forged during more than two decades of war.
Trying to avoid rivalries in his own administration, Karzai secured the support of a fearsome warlord.