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| Name: |
Summer Lover
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| Subject: |
What a way to fight a war!
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Date:
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2/3/2010 2:07:55 PM
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Unreal. How much are WE paying for the fireworks show? A few decades ago we had "indirect fire", but it meant something else.
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| Name: |
Yankee06
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| Subject: |
What a way to fight a war!
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Date:
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2/3/2010 2:54:21 PM
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-Geeeez, I hate to jump into this issue, because this war is so complex in the inter-relationshiip of military, political , and economic aspects.
-But perhaps I can address just the one aspect which I believe was teh main issue in the above article, i.e., trying to limit collateral damage and casualties...without putting U>S> forces in additional danger.
-Gen McChrystal' s strategy might not work ---but then again, it might. we need to give him a chance.
-Yes, protection of teh lives of or own troops should be #1. So far, I haven't seen any evidence that the present strategy and tactics have cost more U.S. lives than the previous S&T. However, my guess is that it has probabbly saved enemy lives, ...which may or may not be bad depending on what his strategy can do in defeating enemy stratgies to control the population. But I'm sure that it has saved innocent civilian lives. I, like some of you, have walked streets where civilians and their homes have been damaged by fighting between U.S. and enemy forces. I's not a pleasent experience.
-Think of it this way. Say there were a gang of thugs intimidating your neighborhood, and the police said they would solve the problem. What would you say if the police action resulted in half your house blown away and several of your kids or neighbors killed?????
-This war is difficult. The goals have become muddled: are we there to democratize Afghanistn? ..are we there to kill Talliban? ...or are we there to insure Al Quaida is destroyed to the point it is unable to attack our homeland. I think we would all agree the strategic goal is to destroy Al Quaida. BUt it seems that to do that, we have to make some progress in the other two areas. I'm willing to give McChrystal a chance like we gave Patraeus and his Surge a chance. ...if it doesn't work, back to killing the ba%$#ards wherever we find them.
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| Name: |
Talullahhound
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| Subject: |
What a way to fight a war!
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Date:
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2/3/2010 3:20:50 PM
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Yankee, I agree with you. Got to give a strategy time to work before we condemn it. Bombing and killing people is easy. But coming up with a creative way to do a show of force without undue collateral damage is harder.
As far as our objectives -- I don't think we are trying to bring about a democracy in Afghanistan. There is nothing in their history that make me conclude that a strong central government is going to succeed there. I think what we are trying to do is defeat the Taliban (and by extention Al Quida)and train up the Afghan militia fighters. As I understand it, the Afghan people have no historical ties to Al Quida, and were just as unhappy as we were about the Taliban.
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| Name: |
lotowner
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| Subject: |
What a way to fight a war!
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Date:
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2/3/2010 3:29:31 PM
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Destroy Al Qaeda, defeat/destroy the Taliban, and forget about nation building. There has never been what we identify as a united Afghanistan. Train their military and get our troops home.
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| Name: |
Summer Lover
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| Subject: |
Show of force
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Date:
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2/3/2010 5:23:05 PM
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Hey, ya'll watch this - let me spend $1 million to convert big rocks into small rocks. If someone does this in the field near the house - I am headed out with lawn chairs and beer to watch. I understand the difficulty of removing a threat from the middle of innocents, but fail to see how we can intimidate the Taliban into submission. I know that the Soviets had such good luck in the region and that we are trying to follow their lead, but....
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| Name: |
Talullahhound
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| Subject: |
Show of force
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Date:
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2/3/2010 5:46:55 PM
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Part of the problem the Russian had was that they thought by isolating villages in Afghanistan that they would bend the will of the people. But that isn't so. They are a tribal group, nomads really, and isolating them doesn't do a thing.
One of our great cultural problems when it comes to war is our inability to accept collateral damage as a cost of doing business. Americans put great value in preserving human life, particularly those not engaged in combat. We could clean up the Taliban real quick if we didn't mind killing innocents too.
I sincerely hope we don't get it in our mind to do nation building. Obama said he has no interest in nation building in Afghanistan or Iraq. I hope no one changes his mind.
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