Posted under Terrorism
NSA Advisor Jim Jones says we can’t stop use air strikes on the Taliban because if we did we would be fighting with one hand behind our backs.
I would prefer our generals would fight with a full brain.
It is obvious that the U.S. military has learned nothing from either Vietnam or Iraq or any other insurgency campaign. Air power against an insurgency doesn’t win the war, it only drives more unaligned into the enemy camp because even the best of targeting devices cannot compensate for human error, thus you have civilian casualties. Those who survive, seeing the destruction of their home, death of the friends and family, death of their livestock, join the enemy to fight back. Look at the 60 Minutes report on drone aircrafts. If the technology is so good that the pilots back home in Vegas can pick out friend and foe, then why are civilans getting killed?
Once again these fellows are more concerned about body counts. At least Operation Rolling Thunder had some potential strategic value i.e. destruction of North Vietmanese infratsurcture to make it impossible for the NVA to aid their Viet Cong allies. What is going on in Afghanistan amounts to nothing more than indescriminate killing.
Ask yourself this question, if predator drone strikes were so valuable to our military sucess, why are the Taliban stronger than they were seven years ago?
Oh, I would be remiss not to point Jones typical U.S. arrogance at the Karzai Administration’s megar request that the U.S. quit killing innocent Afghanis. Obviously Karzai can’t be that important to us if we can dismiss our peon so cavalierly. His Adminsitration doesn’t even have the illusion that it runs Afghanistan. No wonder the Taliban continue to fight. They believe they’re being occupied by the U.S and NATO, not assisted by it.
That’s why the war will sadly go on.
fellist on 12 May 2009 at 8:58 am #
Patroon, the title and half of your post suggest you believe your government’s stated reasons for the ‘war on terror’ and so are baffled at how they behave, the other half suggests you know it’s baloney designed to create enemies and thus more justification for war and empire.
roho on 12 May 2009 at 10:29 pm #
“Teaching The Middleast About Democracy” and winning the hearts and minds of the people?
http://www.abc3340.com/news/stories/0509/622108.html
Bring our troops home.