“There is barely an important piece of land in Afghanistan that has not been occupied by one of our soldiers at some time or another,” the commander said. “Nevertheless, much of the territory stays in the hands of the terrorists. We control the provincial centres, but we cannot maintain political control over the territory that we seize.”
He added: “Our soldiers are not to blame. They’ve fought incredibly bravely in adverse conditions. But to occupy towns and villages temporarily has little value in such a vast land, where the insurgents can just disappear into the hills.”
Times online
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You would think that they would have realised that before they went in. There were plenty of people telling them at the time, but they knew better. I'm reminded of the parable of Bart Simpson, the guinea pig and the booby-trapped cake.
ReplyDeleteThe Afghans will never surrender to the Taliban, no matter how many decades it takes. 91% of them according to a February 2009 poll oppose the Taliban. Eventually, they will kick them out and force them to return to Pakistan or whereever else will take them.
ReplyDeleteTrue, the Afghans will kick out the Taliban - after the Taliban have kicked out the Americans and their Hessians.
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