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| quote: | Originally posted by Shug
Both strategically and tactically, it has been proven throughout history that it is impossible to win a war against guerillas in a landlocked Asiatic country.... especially with a foreign volunteer civilian force.
There needs to be NATO presence in war-torn Afghanistan, this I agree with. The Taliban kept tight repressive reins on that nation. But my opinion is that Canada needs to shift the mandate from aggressive military "sweep and clear" missions to primarily and exclusively those of rebuilding and feet-on-the-ground diplomatic relations.
It's impossible to win the hearts and minds of the people when there's collateral damage. The Taliban are regaining a foothold with the Afghani common people because after so many years, there hasn't been any appreciable improvement - quite the opposite, in fact. Under the Taliban regime, sure they were repressed and restricted from growing their mainstay cash crop (opium), but they were relatively out of the way from stray crossfire and unexploded cluster bombs.
Until the NATO forces, led primarily by Canada, change and adapt the military mandate, the Afghanistan occupation will remain a bleed on resources, both human and otherwise. It's just bad strategy; with the current execution of the occupation and rebuilding, the war is unwinnable and unending. You can't win a guerilla war against imbedded insurgents with a conventional military force.... especially against a people who have a history of resisting foreign occupiers since the Mongol Invasion in the thirteenth century.
I'm not saying pull out, I'm saying we need to re-examine the currently-vague mission objectives. |
You don't think for a second, given Canada's history for negotiation, that wouldn't have been thought of?
Secondly, this isn't going to happen overnight or with the snap of a finger. To me, this is the biggest PR obstacle in our Western, "Gimmie-Now-Insta-Gratification" mindset.
People like instant results these days and the thought of slow, methodical, purposeful steps is causing their ADD symptoms to flair up. The MSM (Main Stream Media), of course, doesn't help in all this either...
There's no easy way around this and yes lives will be lost, however I have faith in our Canadian troops in that they know what they're doing.
I've read several articles in major Canadian magazines regarding our troops in Afghanistan; how they actually talk to the locals, have tea with them, respect the fact that we're in THEIR land but that we're there with a purpose.
I'm very proud of them and so should you.
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"...End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path...one that we all must take.
The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all change to silver glass...and then you see it...
...white shores...and beyond...the far green country under a swift sunrise."
Last edited by Fir3start3r on Nov-02-2006 at 04:54
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The rest of your post hasn't really broken any new ground in the thread, so I'll respectfully acknowledge the post... but there's nothing really new or relevant to address.
