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Old 02-07-2012, 18:02   #6
VAKEMP
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Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Wherever I'm needed
Posts: 75
I just watched "Chosin" last night, and I couldn't help but notice the similarities between the US Government's denial of China's involvement in the Korean War (while US troops were killing them by the thousands and capturing POWs) and their insistence that we are 'winning' in Afghanistan when all accounts on the ground are that more Afghans prefer the Taliban over the current Afghan Government - which leads me to believe that either their definition of 'winning' is skewed, or they are just repeating history (which they have done plenty of times since the Korean War), and they are trying to feed the public a load since they don't want them to know what's really going on.

I agree with greenberetTFS. I think part of the problem is that the focus in Afghanistan moved from removing the Taliban to removing the occupying force, once the US military arrived in large numbers (in line with The Accidental Guerrilla: Fighting Small Wars in the Midst of a Big One by David Kilcullen). When SF first arrived in Afghanistan, the Afghans fought and defeated Taliban forces with the 'assistance' of SF/AF SOF/Air Support. Unfortunately, once the US had a dominant presence in Afghanistan, it was no longer the locals fighting victoriously against the Taliban, but a more threatening force of infidels that the majority perceived to be a greater threat than the Taliban.

The Afghans were more than willing to use our weapons against the Russians, and have our forces 'assist' their tribal leaders, but once the US military took over the Afghans stopped caring because it was no longer their fight.

Is it too late to revert back to a 'support' role, or would it even be worth it any more? It doesn't seem like the Afghans even want to fight the Taliban now; they're more willing to welcome them back!
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