Predictably, I see some pompous drivel appearing about cause and effect! So 9/11 happened because we invaded Afghanistan right? No wait...Iraq? No...hang on, er....
Back on topic....I accept that sometimes it's the crazy ideas that have merit....but seriously guys/girls, have a think through the second order consequences of some of these suggestions!
Running around in a firefight, in the desert, in snowshoes?! Hello?
Crippling the economy of the entire country by bombing the roads back to dirt tracks? Genius!
But it’s ok because we will airdrop supplies to the civilians that we isolate! Have a think about how much food you need in a month. Multiply x people in a town/village. How much airdrop capacity do you think that requires?
Have a look at a map too. Afghanistan is HUGE.
And what would you think if outsiders came and bombed your local roads...presumably on a daily basis because it would not take long to plant new IEDs in the resultant dirt tracks (and they would then be harder to spot).
We’re trying to SAVE the population of Afghanistan – not actively turn them against us!
That means that we need to stand alongside them, put our troops in harms way alongside them, and demonstrate that we are better than the Taliban (and the many other tribal groups that have crime, narcotics and corrupt control on their agenda that are lumped in with the Taliban), that we will stand by our word, that we will act fairly and honestly and that we can bring a better future to pass.
And we can. Ask the troops on the ground. To quote a young Captain I saw interviewed, ‘We do not want our public’s sympathy because sympathy is for losers – and we’re not losing. We just want their support!’
Staying this course, even with the daily horror of casualties, is more likely to succeed that retreating into our bases, becoming isolated from the population and becoming stuck in a long, drawn out conflict with even more casualties over time.
I’m with dave...a well meaning thread perhaps but comical bordering upon dangerous.
CK out.