It's not a war lost. The fact that Afghanistan will never be anything but Afghanistan does not equate to the US losing a war. It does not make it the graveyard of another empire. The Taliban are not the actual focus of the war effort, they're just the guys who make the most noise. The focus has always been on AQ and the ideals which they represent, and will continue to be so for the duration. The Neo-whatevers have no real bearing on the direction of that war. The war has its own life, and it will continue to its conclusion regardless of the politics involved. There is no stopping it. America will survive it, but America will certainly not avoid change in the process.
I hadn't realized we lost Iraq... dang, I need to keep up on current events more.
Anyway, there is no such thing as the Afghan War so it is impossible to lose said war because according to the administration it is now "Overseas Contingencies Operations".
You know, I hadn't posted on Mil. com for many months because of the anti-military crap... not much has changed eh?
Blast more ranting from a civilian whose only ties to the military was politics, yet this fool seems to know everything and how to fix it. Lost Afganistan- hell didn't know that we were focusing on it till now. The main purpose to be there was to eleiminate Taliban! Where does this fool come up with American Empire? Name one country in the world that we control from top to bottom, we're allied with many but we don't controll them- have troops in many but don't control their gov'ts! I thought the whole deal was to eliminate the Taliban and leave the Afgani gov't in a position to keep it that way so we didn't have to return?
Lost war? Not yet...We do need to rethink our tactics on how to strategically defeat Islamofascim in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Maybe a deployment of college students for MTV Spring Break might have done the trick?
Tactically, it would be smart to limit the number of troops and rely on both a quick preemtive or reactionary strike force (man and drone) when there is hard evidence on enemy activity.
Another option is to increase our handlers and sources of HUMINT activity to provide this intell to our strike forces on a real time basis. If you take away the the enemy's will to fight (i.e. make them afraid to be Taliban, because they don't know who is their enemy) then our objectives might be met.
If not, then put the responsibility on their population and blow them back to the stone age, which is not that far off from where they are right now.
Originally posted by DevilDog2847: I hadn't realized we lost Iraq... dang, I need to keep up on current events more.
Anyway, there is no such thing as the Afghan War so it is impossible to lose said war because according to the administration it is now "Overseas Contingencies Operations".
You know, I hadn't posted on Mil. com for many months because of the anti-military crap... not much has changed eh?
Well said Devil Dog. I was in Iraq in 2006-07, and it sure looked like we were winning from where I was standing. My Marine nephew just got back from his third Iraq deployment and said much the same thing. When I returned, I listened with amazement to the defeatist dribble from the mainstream media, the liberals in Congress, and the armchair foreign policy experts including those right here on Military.com, until I just moved on. Well, things haven’t changed. The same drum beat from the same op-eds, and the same handwringing from the same keyboard bangers living in their own little world.
We lost the war when we started it, by subverting our democratic institutions. Our emasculated congress is composed of political cowards--how can a democracy fight two wars for over half a decade and not have a declaration of war? This type of military power is the hallmark of dictatorships. In our response to 9/11, we have done more damage to our country than any terrorist could ever hope to achieve.
A good article, and not anti-military. Criticizing the government's policies is not anti-military, it is a guaranteed right under the 1st amendment to the Constitution. We need to drive Al-Quaeda out and let the chips fall where they may. The Taliban was the best thing for Afghanistan, and still is. The people want that type of government. Let them have it. America has its own set of problems and has no business trying to bring any type of government to any country. Let's pay off our debt, get off our drug addiction, see parents take care of their kids, learn to make things again, and stop giving foreign nations money that we borrow from China. Then maybe we can tell others what to do.
By the way, what is the difference between the Korean Moon owning the Washington Times and the Jews' owning every other media outlet?
Originally posted by 13849603: A good article, and not anti-military. Criticizing the government's policies is not anti-military, it is a guaranteed right under the 1st amendment to the Constitution. We need to drive Al-Quaeda out and let the chips fall where they may. The Taliban was the best thing for Afghanistan, and still is. The people want that type of government. Let them have it. America has its own set of problems and has no business trying to bring any type of government to any country. Let's pay off our debt, get off our drug addiction, see parents take care of their kids, learn to make things again, and stop giving foreign nations money that we borrow from China. Then maybe we can tell others what to do.
By the way, what is the difference between the Korean Moon owning the Washington Times and the Jews' owning every other media outlet?
Outstanding first post! You will probably not be accepted on this forum for 2 reasons: Number 1 - everything you said is logical and makes sense. Number 2 - You are critical of the Jews (correctly so) and that will make you a pariah on this site.
I've never actually seen an atom but through study and evaluating empirical evidence and data, I know they exist. Bottom line, a person does not have to have served in the military or gone off to war to understand tactics, political decision making or having done so to posses the ability to evaluate relevant evidence. All of the harping about soneone who has not worn a uniform and not been to war being a reason to disqualify someone from an opinion is absurd...even if the opinion is about war.
Lind is right on the money based upon relevant evidence...read some history, especially about Afghanistan. All I see here are opinions based upon high levels of testosterone and ego's...hardly the makings of someone rendering an accurate and anaytical opinion...especially when it comes to Afghanistan.
As far as Iraq is concerned, just what is it we have 'won' there?
