U.S. toll in Afghan war hits 1,000
The grim milestone was reached when NATO reported that a service member was killed Friday in a roadside bombing in southern Afghanistan.
The statement did not identify the victim or give the nationality, but U.S. spokesman Col. Wayne Shanks said the service member was American -- the 32nd U.S. war death this month by an Associated Press count.
Next month at this time...1,030, then 1,060, 1,090, ad infinitum or until we see that we're fooling ourselves. The population of Afghanistan is comprised of hundreds of tribes. It's the 'wild west' out there and we don't seem to understand that. Education and aid are the only things that will break down the barriers of tribalism and even that will take decades. And it would cost us 1/10 of what it costs us now.
Afghanistan has about as many people as Iraq, is 70,000 square miles bigger, and has rugged mountainous terrain. It has never been successfully occupied by a foreign power. Need I say more?
ReplyDeleteNo, you said it all.
ReplyDeleteHeavy Memorial Day for those who are paying attention--hey, folks, it ain't about the hotdogs!
ReplyDeleteA while back, I wrote a post (Into The Fog) where I asked what the hell we were doing in Afghanistan. I got back literal answers, so I must not have asked the question correctly. The more I learn about the war, the more convinced I am that not even the most modest warlike goals can be met no matter how many people we deploy. We would have to take over and colonize the place and then give up the hope of ever having a solid night's sleep there. We would simply finish the job of ruining our economy in the effort, just as the Russians did.
McChrystal's hearts and minds initiative is hopeless, I fear. It's a diplomatic mission being attempted by men and women in fatigues and full battle dress. Identified with a local government the villagers distrust. And our troops are never sure if they are speaking to friendlies, neutrals, or members of the Taliban. Somebody forgot to tell the Afghans that, in war, combatants are supposed to wear special costumes so everybody will know who they are.
We'll have to find another way to make war on Al Qaeda.
Suppose we gave a $1 billion to Greg Mortenson and his Central Asia Institute and then shipped all of our troops home. I think we would save $100 billion, thousands of lives and we would 'win' the war.
ReplyDelete