We are going to lose that war anyway because of the Rules of Engagement. Let's get the hell out of that shit hole.
Out. There is no clear path to "victory" (whatever that means), the locals do not want us there and we are wasting so much blood and treasure trying to build a nation that has been broken for centuries. For heaven's sake, they are a loose collection of warring tribes and factions, how are we going to get them to agree to be governed by a singular, unitary leader. Good heavens!
Get our troops out of there. Our government needs to come to terms that the Middle East is most likely NEVER going to change. It is the stone age over there and it seems that a lot of the Afghans are okay living that way (being illiterate and treating their women no better than animals etc etc). I dont want our troops risking their lives for absolutely nothing. Now the problem is that our government is too stupid and stubborn to realize this. Add to the fact that scientists have discovered over a trillion dollars worth of minerals (yes a trillion), we arent getting out of there anytime soon.
If only it were that simple. I would like to see some solutions from you guys, as how to deal with the Taliban and preventing future strikes on the US. That's the reason we are over there, right? That and the poppy fields.
Sadly, ROE is something that has to be followed to prevent unnecessary civilians deaths; deaths, which could lead to more people joining the insurgency, out of retaliation and/or fear (definitely not promoted in the book of Counter-Insurgency). Warfare isn't as simple as 'paving parking lots,' unless your sole intent is the destruction of your enemy and everything else. That would be good for your military objective (hell yeah, kill everything in sight, war won), but politically it would be a shit-storm....which is why politicians walk the line they do, with everything trickling down to the military. The flip side is that combat is fast and unforgiving, and that split-second you take to properly ID a combatant, could be the difference between life and death. So yeah, ROE is a platoon or squad leader's worse nightmare there.
The best way to prevent future strikes on the US is to stop our strikes over there. The would-be Times Square bomber basically said as much when he pled guilty. Drone strikes killing civilians is radicalizing Muslims in America. This concept is finally dawning on people, there was an article about it in Newsweek. The Taliban is for the Afghan Government to figure out. Nation-building has failed. We need our troops back home as infrastructure crumbles, levees fail and the oil slick is washing up on shore. And where are all the right-wing deficit hawks when it comes to the price tag of two wars????? Republicans cut unemployment bennies yet give the military a blank check. Of course as you point out, control of the poppy fields is the real reason we're there, everything else is a smoke screen.
