Kabul, Afghanistan ? The U.S. envoy for Afghanistan has suggested American troops could be used to keep the peace among rival warlords around the country.

The comment, made by U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, follows criticism by some Afghans that the United States is fanning animosities by arming and paying selected Afghan warlords to help in the fight against al-Qaida and Taliban remnants.

At a press conference here Tuesday, Khalilzad said the United States continues to oppose deploying international peacekeepers beyond the capital Kabul, where a 4,500-strong force helps maintain security.

But Khalilzad said the United States was willing to consider other “prudent measures to discourage or preclude a return to warlordism.”

“In some places, the U.S. capabilities, assets have not been given this mission of discouraging, precluding the potential conflict among the warlords,” he said. “This could be added where this may not have been the case before.”

Afghan warlords have long-standing rivalries that flare on their own. But some Afghans complain that tensions have worsened since the United States started paying dlrs 200 a month per soldier to fighters raised by various Afghan warlords, creating competition among commanders and fomenting new tensions.

Last week, a dispute between two of America’s Afghan allies threatened to explode in the town of Khost, about 40 miles (55 kilometers) east of the Operation Anaconda battle area.

Afghan officials said U.S. Special Forces had refused to hand over two suspects who allegedly sought refuge at their base after the car of the regional security chief was ambushed, killing his bodyguard. Two suspects were eventually arrested.

Khalilzad denied there was a contradiction in America’s policy of recruiting Afghans, which may foment rivalries, and its effort to keep the peace among them.

“In some areas, the immediate dominant problem is fighting al-Qaida and the Taliban,” with Afghan allies, he said. “In other places, there is the issue of building security, new police, new army, while at the same time discouraging conflict among the major forces.”

The United States plans to start training Afghan army units on May 1 in hopes the force will be able to maintain order and rein in the warlords.