[pulque]

Originally posted by Tracy
[B]Thoughts?

Hmmm... How's this : "Only YOU can prevent forests!"

heh. thats pretty funny. from my limited viewpoint, the aerial defoliation is targeted to crops, not forests. although with some swidden agriculture, the distinction may be blurred.

Overall, I think will be ineffective. The purpose of defoliation is to establish a barrier to prevent or restrict movement by denying concealment. In this case, it also denies resources used by narcoterrorists.

A basic military tenet of obstacle emplacement is that an obstacle must be placed under continuous observation and covered by fire. This prevents the enemy from defeating or breaching the obstacle.

Thank you for explaining that. As a non military person I was limited in thinking of defoliation as primarily resource denial. Had not considered the barrier (albeit underutilized/underobserved).

Sure, we have the technology; but do we (collectively) have the will, patience and resources to follow through? No, we don't. Our efforts would be better served by winning the hearts and minds, develop relationships, sneak in on foot, and pound on the bad guys until the survivors quit.

Excellent point.