[steel_resolve]

Britain aside, no European country has taken its UN-mandated obligations to fight the war in Afghanistan seriously. But the British experiences both there and in Iraq have been utterly demoralising. The British army has been defeated in Basra. It can no longer take on the Mahdi militia in the city. Indeed, its rule extends solely to the perimeter of the single air-base from which one day soon it will make its ignominious, Saigon-style vertical exit, to be replaced by the US Marine Corps.

ouch.

[Seeking the truth]

Not to long ago, I remember reading advice from the usual suspects that we should adopt the British tactics in Basra.

Don’t get me wrong, the Brits are damn good fighters....when they are allowed to fight as noted in the article.

[hinckley buzzard]

Britain aside, no European country has taken its UN-mandated obligations to fight the war in Afghanistan seriously. But the British experiences both there and in Iraq have been utterly demoralising. The British army has been defeated in Basra. It can no longer take on the Mahdi militia in the city.

This whole problem is rooted in the fact that in Europe it is politically unacceptible to take casualties. Lacking the capacity to wage extended war from fifteen thousand feet like Clinton did, the defensive crouch is the only posture available.