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2010-05-14 Afghanistan
Top general: It's a draw in Afghanistan
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Posted by ed 2010-05-14 00:00|| || Front Page|| [11130 views ]  Top

#1 My father told me that sometimes you have to destroy the village to save it.

Think he picked up that pearl of wisdom somewhere in the Mekong Delta.

Prolly works for countries too.
Posted by bigjim-CA 2010-05-14 02:30||   2010-05-14 02:30|| Front Page Top

#2 Sad Day when the political leadership of this great country let our troops be fought to a draw by a bunch of 6th century tribalists...

i grieve for our troops and pray psalm 109:8 each day for our situation in DC.
Posted by  abu do you love  2010-05-14 02:54||   2010-05-14 02:54|| Front Page Top

#3 The Taliban don't have to win. All they have to do is not lose. Time will take care of the rest.
Posted by phil_b 2010-05-14 04:21||   2010-05-14 04:21|| Front Page Top

#4 Exactly who's the genius that came up with the idea of civilizing Afghans?
Posted by g(r)omgoru 2010-05-14 04:40||   2010-05-14 04:40|| Front Page Top

#5  But for now, the general says, nobody is winning.

Strange admission of failure for a man who was said to have the answers. Maybe it's time for a new answer man.
Posted by Besoeker 2010-05-14 07:33||   2010-05-14 07:33|| Front Page Top

#6 And we don't have to win either. We just need to grind the Taliban and AQ down to a level where the natural creatures of the region will do the rest in their constant battle for hierarchical positioning.

It's not roses for the other side either. They're having significant problems as well. There's a time to quit mulling over every little thing that's not perfect or going to plan on our side and start taking stock of the problems the other guy is having. And he's having a lot of them. It doesn't do them any good to wait for us to depart only to find someone among the locals with a lot less restraint in a far more powerful position to take them on in their very weaken condition.
Posted by Procopius2k 2010-05-14 08:41||   2010-05-14 08:41|| Front Page Top

#7 All that's true, P2K, but it is a peripheral front and is draining more resources from us including will. We should be focused on Iran, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Those are the sources and sanctuaries of our enemies.

Afghanistan is an immaterial sideshow.
Posted by Nimble Spemble 2010-05-14 09:02||   2010-05-14 09:02|| Front Page Top

#8 We could reduce our commitment and let the draw continue. There is no reason why we cannot wait the Talibans out.

Posted by Bernardz 2010-05-14 10:26||   2010-05-14 10:26|| Front Page Top

#9 The truth is ugly.

The only way to civilize the Afghanis is to completely and utterly destroy their culture and replace it. That will take a generation, and a enough blood of the Talib, Mullahs and Warlords to fill a lake.

You do not cure cancer by talking to it, but by ruthlessly excising it, and implacably but thoroughly killing the remnants.
Posted by OldSpook 2010-05-14 10:35||   2010-05-14 10:35|| Front Page Top

#10 Unless you go in with the forces to get the job done, it will drag out forever. Get more forces and start assassinating leaders and bombing the crap out of training camps and mosques that indoctrinate the Taliban.
Posted by gorb 2010-05-14 12:03||   2010-05-14 12:03|| Front Page Top

#11 War occurs when other options fail or you are forced into an action by something such as a 911. One side wins when the costs become intolerable to the other side. One side wins when the will of the other side is broken.

If one is willing to talk about alternatives other than winning, then one has to think about wars that may be interminable and sap your will and resources. The other side plays the waiting game and tries not to lose too many resources. The creeping cancer will continue as will the threats to national security under this scenario.

The other option is nation-building which is a long slog and may or may not be successful.
Posted by JohnQC 2010-05-14 14:03||   2010-05-14 14:03|| Front Page Top

#12 The only way to civilize the Afghanis is to completely and utterly destroy their culture and replace it.

Hypothetical. Suppose you go to all the trouble, and then find out that it's genetic---not culture?
Posted by g(r)omgoru 2010-05-14 14:30||   2010-05-14 14:30|| Front Page Top

#13 You don't want to go there grom, not coming from a people who live in a genetic cul-de-sac.
Posted by ed 2010-05-14 14:52||   2010-05-14 14:52|| Front Page Top

#14 Did we get what we wanted (at least in the medium term)? No more use of the area as a base to attack us and a few armed friendlies to help make life interesting for Iran (and maybe the ISI)? Then we won this round. If not, we didn't.
Posted by James  2010-05-14 15:32|| http://idontknowbut.blogspot.com  2010-05-14 15:32|| Front Page Top

#15 Did we get what we wanted?

We got that 7 years ago. It's been put thumping nation building ever since. OS is right and we aren't ready to play that kind of hardball yet. We'll need a mushroom cloud over CONUS to get there.
Posted by Nimble Spemble 2010-05-14 15:50||   2010-05-14 15:50|| Front Page Top

#16 Its not genetic.

If you believe that, they you can go stand with the eugenics boosters of the 1930's, the progressives, "Communist Man" and the Aryan Superiority boys with Dr Megele. One of us mongrel races will be more than happy to shoot you first.
Posted by OldSpook 2010-05-14 22:35||   2010-05-14 22:35|| Front Page Top

#17 Compare wid PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > FACTBOX - [serious] CHALLENGES OF MOUNTAIN WARFARE IN PAKISTAN, + [SecSTATE Hillary] US WILL NOT DESTROY KANDAHAR [city] TO SAVE IT FROM THE TALIBAN.

versus

*DAILY TIMES/TOPIX > NEW PAKISTAN TALIBAN [TTP] VIDEO CLAIMS THAT "AMERICA WILL BURN". Video also calls for the overthrow of PAK GOVT-LEADERS for suppor the US agenda.

* WAFF > THE ISLAMIC WAR ON EVERYONE; + MEDVEDEV TO ASSAD: ISRAEL INTENDS TO USE NUKES AGZ SYRIAN CITIES, iff it is attacked. Dimitri also warned Assad that a SILENT OR COVERT AGREEMENT EXISTS AMONGST RUSS, US, BRITAIN, FRANCE, + GERMANY to not interfere + stop any LT, devastating or nuclear strike + war by Israel agz IRAN, SYRIA, + LEBANON UNTIL THE THREAT OF ISLAMIST RADICALISM IS ABSOLUT ELIMINATED, EVEN IFF IT MEANS OR ENTAILS THE ARAB-MUSLIM WORLD TO ISRAEL???

IMO, "DRAW/STALEMATE" IN AFPAK = MILTERRS WIN + RISE OF ISLAMIST NUCLEAR ASIA + US CITIES WILL [eventually] GLOW IN THE DARK.
Posted by JosephMendiola 2010-05-14 22:44||   2010-05-14 22:44|| Front Page Top

#18 OOOOPPSIES, forgot TOPIX > [JI Jaamat Islamiyah = Qaeda Aceh]INDONESIAN MILITANTS PLANNED TO KILL PRESIDENT OBAMA, during sttae visit [ + kill their own Indones President, etal. + stage Coup agz Govt + declare the imposition of rigid Sharia].

* SAME > VARIOUS > NEW ISLAMIST STATE OF IRAQ "WAR MINISTER" VOWS ATTACKS.
Posted by JosephMendiola 2010-05-14 22:51||   2010-05-14 22:51|| Front Page Top

23:55 DMFD
23:42 gorb
23:41 Adriane
23:36 gorb
23:33 gorb
23:28 Secret Master
23:22 OldSpook
22:52 phil_b
22:51 JosephMendiola
22:44 JosephMendiola
22:43 Rex Mundi
22:41 Frank G
22:40 Rex Mundi
22:39 phil_b
22:39 Frank G
22:37 OldSpook
22:35 OldSpook
22:14 phil_b
22:14 Old Patriot
22:03 Free Radical
22:01 JosephMendiola
21:52 phil_b
21:46 JosephMendiola
21:40 JosephMendiola









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