Obama’s Vietnam
Courtesy of Reuters:
Outnumbered U.S. troops defend Afghan frontier
U.S. commanders are rushing thousands of reinforcements to the south of Afghanistan to take on the Taliban in what Washington considers a make-or-break year for a war it now views as its main security priority.
Here in the east of the country, the official line from top commanders is that they now have all the troops they need.
But down on the ground, in the high mountain passes on the east bank of the Kunar river which guerrillas have been using to smuggle fighters and weapons in from Pakistan for decades, the soldiers of 6/4 squadron tell a different story.
The fighting is hard and constant, and they do not have enough men to stop the Taliban infiltrating across the border.
In January, U.S. commanders sent an extra 700 troops to the area south of 6/4 squadron’s territory. The new troops are just “a drop of water” in the sea, said one soldier who asked not to be identified while discussing the shortage of manpower.
and this, from AP:
Obama: Early to mull more troops in Afghanistan
President Barack Obama says he needs to see how fast Afghanistan can be stabilized and led toward a more democratic government before deciding whether more troops are needed.
He did not rule out the possibility of sending even more troops, while
stressing such a decision was premature at this point and that U.S. military action is not the only answer to bringing stability to the region.“We have to see our military action in the context of a broader
effort to stabilize security in the country, allow national elections
to take place in Afghanistan and then provide the space for the vital
development work that’s needed so that a tolerant and open,
democratically elected government is considered far more legitimate
than a Taliban alternative,” Obama said.“My
strong view is that we are not going to succeed simply by piling on
more and more troops,” he added. “The military component is critical to
accomplishing that goal, but it is not a sufficient element by itself.”“The starting point was a recognition that the existing trajectory was
not working, that the Taliban had made advances, that our presence in
Afghanistan was declining in popularity, that the instability along the
border region was destabilizing Pakistan as well,” Obama said.
I submit that stability can only come with the suppression of the Taliban. I have a hard time understanding why the lessons learned in Iraq are NOT being applied to this front in the continuing war again those who would like nothing more than to tear the world back down to the stone age.
I will agree with Obama that the military force is not the only answer, but it is a critical component to it. Without sufficient military force to suppress the bad actors – the local taliban that terrorize villages inside Afghanistan; the smugglers bringing in new fighters and war supplies for the agents of oppression; the Al-Qaeda elements whose sole motive is to spread choas and anarchy, to pave the way for the new Caliphate – there can be no political or social improvement. Indeed, the people will not stand with us, when we do not have the force, and more importantly, the appearant will to win.
Let’s face it, the United States, with the notable exception of Iraq (not for lack of effort on the Democrat’s part) has a recent history of grasping defeat from the jaws of victory. And even Iraq had to be a “two parter” becuase of a lack of resolve to finish the job the first time (leaving untold thousands of Kurds and Southern Iraq’s to Saddams tender mercies).
Until we repeat our commitment to winning the Peace in Afghanistan, by shutting down the ability of the Taliban to terrorize the population, through the use of overwhelming firepower, we will continue to lose ground, and more lives will be lost, on all sides.
When I was much younger, we had a saying: “Peace through Superior Firepower”. Never has this been more true than in this conflict.
Our enemy (not our Opponent – this isn’t a soccer game) knows the terrain, and has a warrior mindset that has deated every “invader” since Alexander the Great. They will not stop until they are back in control of Afghanistan, and add in Pakistan to boot.
If we don’t get serious about this threat, just like with Obama’s budget, our children will pay for our mistakes.
Charlton Heston was an iconic actor, with a voice rivaled by Alex Hailey. He was the star of many of Hollywood’s most memorable films, from the Ten Commandments, and Ben Hur (which endeared him in the American Heartland), to Planet of the Apes (the original, not the schlock that followed).


