:: It doesn’t work unless we are there for a long time ::
Wrong. It won’t work until we seriously alter the Obama ROE!
“Wrong. It won’t work until we seriously alter the Obama ROE!”
I am not sure that the US has the stomach for the ROE changes that would be required to be effective in Afghanistan.
A student of history would note that Kipling wrote about the futility of military intervention in Afghanistan in the 19th century. We have proven (and the Soviets before us) that not much has changed in that regard in the intervening century. I suspect it won’t change much in the next century either.
Agree. The Russians have long lusted after this region as an avenue for a petroleum pipeline to a warm water port. Very strategic to them. I don’t think it’s changed.
Fighting in Afghanistan brought Russia to her knees - do you reckon they were hampered by our style ROE?
You are absolutely right. Insurgencies must be violently and overwhelming crushed.
For good or for ill, the tactics required to do so are brutal and morally/ethically questionable. Consider the firebombing of Tokyo and other Japanese cities.
In the case of Afghanistan, I am wondering if it makes sense to do nothing, and wait for a critical mass to appear before crushing it. Right now, our greatest strengths are our weakness. Our size and tools of massive devastation don’t really work well on 1-5 man elements. We lack the mobility, intelligence, and troop strength to go village to village rooting out the bastards.
Aside from being a strategic location, I am not seeing the value in this global arm pit. If they want to continue living in the 7th century, let them.