I don't know why anyone would consider the Afghanistan native fighters "weak". They've never lost a war and have defeated the biggest military powers
in history at one time or another (British Empire, USSR, The Mongols....)
Of course, this is fighting on their turf and I think everyone who studies history can tell you that small, cohesive groups of insurgents can put up
one hell of a fight even against a foe with superior arms, supplies and technology. That is, as long as everyone is willing to allow them to fight in
a way that plays to their advantages.
Everyone loves to throw the Vietnam reference around, for example. What really happened during the Tet offensive (the beginning of the end) was that
the Vietcong were almost wiped out. You can fight an insurgent war and keep killing small numbers of people for a very, very long time but you cannot
reach victory without engaging in force on force, take and hold territory type warfare. Politics is what ended that war.
The US was in much the same position in Afghanistan and though the ultimate result remains to be seen, even the experts are not optimistic. Despite a
hard fought effort to fight the insurgent / guerrilla tactics with very effective Special Ops tactics, the politicians are losing the battle once
again. The government is corrupt as hell, weak and if the US and others left today the country will return to tribal Warlords fighting against each
other before the dust clears.
Though I understand why we went there and appreciate the fact that our military Men and Women have sacrificed life and limb fighting the people who
would be killing American civilians in and outside the US otherwise, the wisdom of fighting wars in the Middle East may turn out to be severely
lacking. These are very proud, vendetta prone cultures who have a concept of honor that will justify killing innocent Westerners for decades to
A lot of people look at the Israel / Palestine conflict and find it ridiculous because they've been led to believe it's a war over sharing zip codes.
In reality, the first groups to fight for an Israeli nation in Palestine were radical Jews, often from Russian who launched an ethnic war to drive the
Palestinians out. The Jews formed terror cells who quickly developed the tactic of setting off a small bomb and then a second, larger one to kill the
people who responded and gathered at the scene. (Sound familiar?). They also attacked farming villages full of women and children and slaughtered
civilians by the thousands. They funded their groups with violent bank robberies, a tactic learned from Communist class struggle teachings back
This is why some Arabs / Muslims feel justified in using those same tactics and scream for the dissolution of Israel or even the extinction of the
Jews. When the US came along and not only supported the new Israel but provided them weapons to kill Palestinians and Arabs with we became a
legitimate target, also. Unfortunately the only solution is for at least one side to evolve beyond the focus on past wrongs and present revenge for
I'd really hate to see the sacrifices our troops have made wasted, a possibility due to the inability for the politicians to do what's right and the
creation of more enemies, more vendettas, etc.
edit on 21-5-2012 by ecoparity because: (no reason given)