Rules Of Engagement
Have we not learned anything?
We have been through how many wars? We have built the largest, most well-trained military in the world. We have the most advanced weaponry known to man. So how can it be that our soldiers are being shot at close range by Afghan forces that we are training? With all of our knowledge, armor, and weaponry, how do we allow our troops to be murdered by the same people we hope will police their own country?
Every other day it seems there is an attack on American or allied troops in Afghanistan by “green on blue” attacks. I don’t understand. I thought we were there to fight terrorists, not train, clothe , and arm an Afghan police force, who are turning those weapons on unsuspecting U.S. soldiers.
After all the wars and conflicts that the United States have been involved in how do military leaders allow this to happen? Isn’t there a better way?
In Iraq we attacked with frightening speed and force. In a matter of weeks we amassed on the Iraqi border and days later we are in Baghdad. Saddam had disappeared and his army was retreating, surrendering, or taking off their uniforms and going home. So what could possibly go wrong with our amazing victory? What could possibly stop or even reverse the course of such an apparent successful mission? How could someone screw up such a decisive victory?
Fuckin’ politicians that’s how. Let’s train their police force. Let’s throw a butt load of money at them and they will love America. Let’s change the rules of engagement for our troops, instead of hellfire missiles, A-10’s reigning 50 cal on the rat bastards, M1 Abrams decimating known insurgent locations, let’s make them go door to door, shack to shack in an urban warfare environment with their Humvees and body armor. What could go wrong?
Holy shit! How long did it take the insurgents to improvise and adapt to our new rules of engagement? Not very fucking long! Why? Because they knew that American politicians do not have the stomach for total battlefield casualties. They knew that if they were patient, the American politicians would change the rules and put their own troops in harm’s way in the name of civility. So Iraq became….an unwinnable war. Sound familiar?
Afghanistan has become, due to political correctness, an unwinnable war. A very unpopular war. But our sons and daughters are still dying at the hands of those we are tasked to train and protect. At what price do you put an American life in battle? What are we to gain for the incredible senseless loss of Americans in a country that does not want us there? What is the end game? My short answer…. there is no end game.
So unleash the hounds of hell and show the Taliban that we are willing take out an entire village if necessary……..or withdraw completely. I hate to say it because of the disrespect it shows for the fallen soldiers in the “War on Terror”. But we are no longer fighting a war that we can win considering the rules that our leaders have placed on our troops. That is all.
UPDATE: Letter from the front in Afghanistan
“To the second point: I don’t think that the American citizens would be happy if they knew that their soldiers were being prohibited from defending themselves in any way because of politically driven orders, but that is precisely what is happening in this war right now even as I write this letter. The soldiers of the U.S. never engage the enemy unless we know that we have will always have the tactical advantage in defending ourselves, that advantage is the use of close air support and air weapons team. To take those weapons away from us is to level the playing field for the enemy and thus exposing our soldiers to more danger. In the school house they teach us that the minimum ratio that we are to engage the enemy with, is a 3:1 ratio. In other words, we have the highest probability of winning because we don’t fight fair. The sound tactical principles behind this teaching have saved lives. The very presence of aircraft over our foot patrols has also saved lives and now our chain of command is being told by our political leadership that this is now not allowed. If we are not partnering with the ANSF and we are not actively patrolling to prevent our enemies from massing their attacks on our COP and we can’t drop a bomb on the enemy that we have positively identified, than what the hell are we doing here?”
Read it all here…..just sayin. A Huge Nod To Weasel Zippers for the story.
