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  1. #1
    Shostakovich fan Feanor's Avatar
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    McChrystal betrays us, (not Petraeus!)

    Obama was right to accept McChrystal's resignation. Distainful public remarks about the Commander in Chief and his advisors are insubordination ipso facto. He's luck not to be courtmartialed.

    The remarks go beyond "poor judgement" coming from a person of McChrystal's undoubted abilities: they show contempt for the legitimate role of a high military commander in a democratic system where civilian leadership sets policy. If McChrystal didn't feel he could follow the CiC's lead capably and with good conscience then he should have quietly resigned for "personal reasons", not publically bad-mouthed the President and his advisors.

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    Man of the People Forums Moderator bobsticks's Avatar
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    Yeah, because your right to free speach ends with a career in the military and Obama's experience as Commander and Chief of the Illinois National Guard makes him infallible.
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    Quote Originally Posted by bobsticks
    Yeah, because your right to free speach ends with a career in the military and Obama's experience as Commander and Chief of the Illinois National Guard makes him infallible.
    No, because there should not be a different code of conduct for the grunts and tops dogs. It would have sent a bad message to the enlisted and everyone else.

  4. #4
    Man of the People Forums Moderator bobsticks's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hyfi
    No, because there should not be a different code of conduct for the grunts and tops dogs. It would have sent a bad message to the enlisted and everyone else.
    I doubt Bill considered this when crafting his missive. His hatred for the U.S. Military Industrial Complex seems all-encompassing and pervasive.
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    Quote Originally Posted by bobsticks
    I doubt Bill considered this when crafting his missive. His hatred for the U.S. Military Industrial Complex seems all-encompassing and pervasive.
    Doesn't stop with the military 'sticks, but we already knew that.

    Whatever. He's just trolling anyway.

  6. #6
    Man of the People Forums Moderator bobsticks's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rich-n-Texas
    Doesn't stop with the military 'sticks, but we already knew that.

    Whatever. He's just trolling anyway.
    Whoah there nelly furtado...I don't share the same wholesale view of Feanor's posts that you do. I don't think as you do that he hates Americans or America. I take most of his posts as a cautionary tale and fully respect his right to disagree with me or rail against perceived inequities. He's lived alot of years and has some wisdom and his concepts are based on facts as he understands them. The same cannot be said for many of the rabble-rousers of AR.

    That said, this particular posts raises my guile because I think our President has done far more to endanger our troops and negate our intents in that critical part of the world than a few mean words from a decorated soldier.

    I also don't understand what he means when he scribes "betrays us".
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    She said : "Eh, I know you, and you cannot sing"
    I said : "That's nothing - you should hear me play piano"

  7. #7
    Shostakovich fan Feanor's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bobsticks
    I doubt Bill considered this when crafting his missive. His hatred for the U.S. Military Industrial Complex seems all-encompassing and pervasive.
    Au contraire, 'Sticks. I was very much thinking of the effect on the troops and still more so of the encouragement to our mutual enemies, the Taliban and El Qaeda. Let's not forget that Canadian troops are fighting in Afganistan and that the US commander on the ground is effectively the overall commander of Canadian and other NATO troops in that country -- hence the "us", ma'man.

    By the way, these rules aren't just for the military. Publically bad-mouthing the company would have been grounds for dismissal in any organization I've worked for.

  8. #8
    Man of the People Forums Moderator bobsticks's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Feanor
    Au contraire, 'Sticks. I was very much thinking of the effect on the troops and still more so of the encouragement to our mutual enemies, the Taliban and El Qaeda. Let's not forget that Canadian troops are fighting in Afganistan and that the US commander on the ground is effectively the overall commander of Canadian and other NATO troops in that country -- hence the "us", ma'man. .
    I think the President did far graver damage to the cause when he announced on television his optimal timetable for withdrawal. Nothing like tipping the enemy off, eh?

    Quote Originally Posted by Feanor
    By the way, these rules aren't just for the military. Publically bad-mouthing the company would have been grounds for dismissal in any organization I've worked for.
    True, so true...I doubt McChrystal planned on furthering his career. I strongly suspect that he felt he was departing with a "shot over the bow"....
    So, I broke into the palace
    With a sponge and a rusty spanner
    She said : "Eh, I know you, and you cannot sing"
    I said : "That's nothing - you should hear me play piano"

  9. #9
    Shostakovich fan Feanor's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bobsticks
    I think the President did far graver damage to the cause when he announced on television his optimal timetable for withdrawal. Nothing like tipping the enemy off, eh?
    ....
    Possibly, but that isn't the issue at hand. Plus, be that as it may, it doesn't give McChrystal to publicly disparage his CiC while still retaining his command.

  10. #10
    Suspended markw's Avatar
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    "us"?

    What you mean "us", kemosabe?

    How many years did McChrystal spend in the Military?

    How many did Obama serve?

    The troops respected McChrystal because of his experience in military matters. And, he pulled no punches when giving advice on what he spent his life doing. I wonder how many felt the same way as he did.

    Anyhow, now we get to see the great military strategist that's in charge of the armed forces. Sometimes, one cuts off ones nose to spite their face.

    Did he make the right move? Time will tell. Ask Harry Truman.

    But, Obama promising the enemy that we'll be out in a year surely was not a wise move. We're all lame ducks over there.
    Last edited by markw; 06-23-2010 at 05:32 PM.

  11. #11
    Suspended markw's Avatar
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    "Should not" and "real world" diverge sometimes. This is one of them.

    Quote Originally Posted by Hyfi
    No, because there should not be a different code of conduct for the grunts and tops dogs. It would have sent a bad message to the enlisted and everyone else.
    No offense, but you have no idea what you're talking about here. The military has different rules than civilian life, particularly for those high ranking individuals in the public spotlight.

    As much as I agree with what the guy said, he was not allowed to make it public, or so the laws go.

    But, Obama should realize that he had the perfect man in there for that job. The locals respected him. Getting rid of him may come back to haunt him.
    Last edited by markw; 06-23-2010 at 05:10 PM.

  12. #12
    Shostakovich fan Feanor's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by markw
    What you mean "us", kemosabe?
    ...
    I adequately explained the "us" a little earlier.

    As Bobsticks so kindly and accurately pointed out I don't hate America or Americans, but there are times American egocentricism pisses me off.

    Quote Originally Posted by markw
    ...
    How many years did McChrystal spend in the Military?

    How many did Obama serve?

    The troops respected McChrystal because of his experience in military matters. And, he pulled no punches when giving advice on what he spent his life doing. I wonder how many felt the same way as he did.

    Anyhow, now we get to see the great military strategist that's in charge of the armed forces. Sometimes, one cuts off ones nose to spite their face.

    Did he make the right move? Time will tell. Ask Harry Truman.
    ....
    What is your point? Mine is mostly that we, (the world and not the least Americans), will be in deep trouble were the US military to become the main agenda setters. That would be called military dictatorship.

    I'm not necessarily defending Obama's strategy in Afganistan, but even the US military admits that "victory", (a successful outcome), does not depend soley or even mainly on military measures.

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    Quote Originally Posted by markw
    No offense, but you have no idea what you're talking about here. The military has different rules than civilian life, particularly for those high ranking individuals in the public spotlight.

    As much as I agree with what the guy said, he was not allowed to make it public, or so the laws go.

    But, Obama should realize that he had the perfect man in there for that job. The locals respected him. Getting rid of him may come back to haunt him.
    I know you are having fun taking shots at me lately but go back and re-read what I wrote.

    The word civilian was not there.

    What I was trying to say was, and I paraphrased a recent interview I heard on NPR, was that when a lower level military individual does something similar, he gets reprimanded. If a high ranking officer does the same thing, he should face the EXACT same consequences.

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    Suspended markw's Avatar
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    Apologies. Allow me to reword that.

    Quote Originally Posted by Hyfi
    I know you are having fun taking shots at me lately but go back and re-read what I wrote.

    The word civilian was not there.

    What I was trying to say was, and I paraphrased a recent interview I heard on NPR, was that when a lower level military individual does something similar, he gets reprimanded. If a high ranking officer does the same thing, he should face the EXACT same consequences.
    No offense, but you have no idea what you're talking about here. The military has different rules for low-ranking enlisted personel and high ranking officers in leadrship position, particularly those individuals in the public spotlight.

    As much as I agree with what the guy said, he was not allowed to make it public, or so the laws go.

    But, Obama should realize that he had the perfect man in there for that job. Getting rid of him may come back to haunt him. The locals respected him and he did look out for the men underneath him as best that he was allowed.

    Now, to add a little forward motion to this thread, for a bit of what they were probably biitching about, click here.

    Remember, LBJ looked at soldiers in Viet-nam as if they were those little plastic soldires we played with when we were young.

  15. #15
    Man of the People Forums Moderator bobsticks's Avatar
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    Petraeus! rhymes with "Betray Us"...
    So, I broke into the palace
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    She said : "Eh, I know you, and you cannot sing"
    I said : "That's nothing - you should hear me play piano"

  16. #16
    M.P.S.E /AES/SMPTE member Sir Terrence the Terrible's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bobsticks
    I think the President did far graver damage to the cause when he announced on television his optimal timetable for withdrawal. Nothing like tipping the enemy off, eh?
    I don't think our enemy is the Taliban, I think Karzai is our enemy. I think Obama was right for letting Karzai know that this is not an open ended engagement, and he needs to get his government in order(get rid of the corruption), so his own people can trust in it(at least as much as we trust ours, which isn't much). The Afghan people are a stronger army than ours in this case. The west cannot look at Afghanistan they way it does. It is not a country per se, but a series of providences run by locals. Trying to establish a central government in a country that has been run by providential government is not easy. When you have a government in place that the people have no faith in, it becomes impossible. The Taliban are harsh people, but if non Taliban Afghani's are not willing to fight them, then why should we?

    We need to get out of there ASAP. We should have learned from our Iraq debacle that the people in Afghanistan do not appreciate our sacrifice of blood and resources. And we should not be there trying to muscle our way in on their minerals.



    True, so true...I doubt McChrystal planned on furthering his career. I strongly suspect that he felt he was departing with a "shot over the bow"....
    That was some shot. It caused him to lose his job in disgrace. Sticks, you know free speech is a two edged sword. McChrystal got cut big time.

    MarkW, Obama not firing him could also come back to haunt him. This was definately a lose lose situation. You have to figure out what was the biggest loss, respect for the CiC, or the locals respect for McChrystal.

    That link you provided is the perfect reason why we should be out of there pronto. I have never cared for G Will's opinion, but he is certainly right in that editorial.
    Last edited by Sir Terrence the Terrible; 06-24-2010 at 12:32 PM.
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  17. #17
    3LB
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    Mark, if the next lowest ranking officer under McChrystal had publically scoffed at any decisions made by McChrystal, then that guy would have been reprimanded harshly and prolly transfered immediately. I served 6 years in the military and one of the first things I learned, there is no right or wrong, only rank. The sanctity of rank has always been upheld despite even the most dire of acts. I am not surprised that McChrystal was relieved of his command. No one who has ever served should be surprised. This incident shows very poor decision making on the part of McChrystal. He definitely knew better. He left Obama no choice but to do what he did.
    Last edited by 3LB; 06-24-2010 at 01:05 PM.
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  18. #18
    Suspended markw's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Feanor
    I adequately explained the "us" a little earlier.
    To some degree. If "youse" were in on the planning stages, then you might have a point but, as far as I can tell, much like fleas on a dog, you're just along for the ride. You don't have much say in where he goes.

    Quote Originally Posted by Feanor
    As Bobsticks so kindly and accurately pointed out I don't hate America or Americans, but there are times American egocentricism pisses me off.
    Well, to be honest, I've seen more "egocentricim" on this board being flung from the North, not the other way around.

    Quote Originally Posted by Feanor
    What is your point? Mine is mostly that we, (the world and not the least Americans), will be in deep trouble were the US military to become the main agenda setters. That would be called military dictatorship.

    I'm not necessarily defending Obama's strategy in Afganistan, but even the US military admits that "victory", (a successful outcome), does not depend soley or even mainly on military measures.
    Again, when the "civilian authorities" become cavalier with the lives of the soldiers, someone has to speak for them. As I said earlier, LBJ played with his soldiers in Nam like they came in a plastic bag from the toy store.

    If you read that link I posted in my reply to hyfi, you'll see some examples of what I'm talking about. You'll see the same pattern being repeated. We're not ther to win anything. We are so hobbled by our "civilian oversight" that we are simply targets that cannot retaliate.

    So, either unleash the dogs of war or get the fluck outta there.. now!

    I do relaize the political imperative that Obama had to "save face" but it's a shame that he, and his "civilian advisors" put the General in such a position with their poor decisions that the complaints were valid. It's too bad Obama didn't listen to him sooner.

    And, 3LB, I was in the service from '68 to '72.
    Last edited by markw; 06-24-2010 at 02:05 PM.

  19. #19
    M.P.S.E /AES/SMPTE member Sir Terrence the Terrible's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by markw
    To some degree. If "youse" were in on the planning stages, then you might have a point but, as far as I can tell, much like fleas on a dog, you're just along for the ride. You don't have much say in where he goes.

    Well, to be honest, I've seen more "egocentricim" on this board beilg flung from the Notrh, not the other way around.

    Again, when the "civilian authorities" become cavalier with the lives of the soldiers, someone has to speak for them. As I said earlier, LBJ played with his soldiers in Nam like they came in a plastic bag from the toy store.

    If you read that link I posted in my reply to hyfi, you'll see some examples of what I'm talking about.

    I do relaize the political imperative that Obama had to "save face" but it's a shame that he put himself in such a position with poor decisions that the complaints were valid.
    Mark, I am a little confused with your angle here. Are you saying it is Obama decision that the rules of engagement are constricting?

    I am thinking it is more the cries of the Afghani people that have done this. You can't win the hearts and minds if the people have complaints about your tactics. What the Afghani people want is a war with no civilian blood spilled. That is impossible if the enemy looks like a civilian, and runs into crowds of civilians after he has done his deed. This is not the fault of Obama, we had the same problems when Bush was President.

    The bottom line is Afghanistan is an unwinnable war. We are wasting soldiers and money fighting it just to save our face, a face that will not be saved when all is said and done.

    Osama is not in Afghanistan(at least that is what the reports say) so we have no business there, we have essentially done what we were supposed to do. Nation building was not on the to do list.
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  20. #20
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    Terrance, what you say is exactly correct.

    Quote Originally Posted by Sir Terrence the Terrible
    Mark, I am a little confused with your angle here. Are you saying it is Obama decision that the rules of engagement are constricting?

    I am thinking it is more the cries of the Afghani people that have done this. You can't win the hearts and minds if the people have complaints about your tactics. What the Afghani people want is a war with no civilian blood spilled. That is impossible if the enemy looks like a civilian, and runs into crowds of civilians after he has done his deed. This is not the fault of Obama, we had the same problems when Bush was President.

    The bottom line is Afghanistan is an unwinnable war. We are wasting soldiers and money fighting it just to save our face, a face that will not be saved when all is said and done.

    Osama is not in Afghanistan(at least that is what the reports say) so we have no business there, we have essentially done what we were supposed to do. Nation building was not on the to do list.
    We'll never win the "hearts and minds" of these creatures. As far as I'm concerned they are simply living proof that Iranians mated with goats eons ago.

    When we went in it should have been to destroy in retaliation for their harboring Bin LAden and the Taliban. W's plan to win their "hearts and minds" was hogwash. They exist in some by-gone century where warlords rule and bend to whoever pays them the most. Bush should have learned after what Russia went through with them.

    I'll restate two lines from my previous post. Please note the referenced link.

    "If you read that link I posted in my reply to hyfi, you'll see some examples of what I'm talking about. You'll see the same pattern being repeated. We're not there to win anything. We are so hobbled by our "civilian oversight" that we are simply targets that cannot retaliate.

    So, either unleash the dogs of war or get the fluck outta there.. now!"

  21. #21
    M.P.S.E /AES/SMPTE member Sir Terrence the Terrible's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by markw
    We'll never win the "hearts and minds" of these creatures. As far as I'm concerned they are simply living proof that Iranians mated with goats eons ago.

    When we went in it should have been to destroy in retaliation for their harboring Bin LAden and the Taliban. W's plan to win their "hearts and minds" was hogwash. They exist in some by-gone century where warlords rule and bend to whoever pays them the most. Bush should have learned after what Russia went through with them.

    I'll restate two lines from my previous post. Please note the referenced link.

    "If you read that link I posted in my reply to hyfi, you'll see some examples of what I'm talking about. You'll see the same pattern being repeated. We're not there to win anything. We are so hobbled by our "civilian oversight" that we are simply targets that cannot retaliate.

    So, either unleash the dogs of war or get the fluck outta there.. now!"
    Gotcha.

    I totally agree with your last statement, but lean towards the last six words. Unleashing the dogs of war is fruitless in this case.
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  22. #22
    Silence of the spam Site Moderator Geoffcin's Avatar
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    I've moved this tread to the "Steel Cage". From now on please use this for all the politics/religion threads. Thanks guys!
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    Shostakovich fan Feanor's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sir Terrence the Terrible
    I don't think our enemy is the Taliban, I think Karzai is our enemy. I think Obama was right for letting Karzai know that this is not an open ended engagement, and he needs to get his government in order(get rid of the corruption), so his own people can trust in it(at least as much as we trust ours, which isn't much). The Afghan people are a stronger army than ours in this case. The west cannot look at Afghanistan they way it does. It is not a country per se, but a series of providences run by locals. Trying to establish a central government in a country that has been run by providential government is not easy. When you have a government in place that the people have no faith in, it becomes impossible. The Taliban are harsh people, but if non Taliban Afghani's are not willing to fight them, then why should we?

    We need to get out of there ASAP. We should have learned from our Iraq debacle that the people in Afghanistan do not appreciate our sacrifice of blood and resources. And we should not be there trying to muscle our way in on their minerals.
    ....
    Indeed I think all Afganis are our enemies. All regions and tribes fundamentaly disrespect us. And this is nothing new, it goes back to British attempts to subdue the region in the 19th century. We'll never win their hearts & minds.

    I would ordinarily say that when you invade somebody's country you owe it to them to leave in a peaceful and reasonably stable state. Maybe we can do that in Iraq, but I really doubt it's possible in the Afgan case. Too big a proportion of the population there really just want to get back to killing each other.

    Biden has more discretion than McChrystal, but I recall at one point he said the most we should and can do is punish El Qaeda and others whose main intent is to attach western nations, but leave the Afgans to fight their own civil war. That was fundamentally good advice

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    3LB
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    Quote Originally Posted by Geoffcin
    I've moved this tread to the "Steel Cage". From now on please use this for all the politics/religion threads. Thanks guys!
    why? this is one of the few times that we're all, for the most part, in agreement.

    Get us out of Afghanistan now.

    Quote Originally Posted by markw
    either unleash the dogs of war or get the fluck outta there.. now!"
    Quote Originally Posted by Sir T
    The bottom line is Afghanistan is an unwinnable war. We are wasting soldiers and money fighting it just to save our face, a face that will not be saved when all is said and done.
    thing is, Americans always want to be perceived as the "good guys" and win the war. This is another instance where we can't have our cake and eat it too. We aren't really willing to do what it would take to win there. Sometimes you just gotta cut your losses.
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    M.P.S.E /AES/SMPTE member Sir Terrence the Terrible's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Feanor
    Indeed I think all Afganis are our enemies. All regions and tribes fundamentaly disrespect us. And this is nothing new, it goes back to British attempts to subdue the region in the 19th century. We'll never win their hearts & minds.
    And we won't because they remember the Brits and Russians quite well. Chased them both out in shame, and we are next. You cannot change hundreds of years of indoctrination in one war, and when the people don't really want the change. However, I would not go as far as saying all Afghani's are our enemies. I think their mentality is our enemy, not they as people. Wars are always going to have civilian causalities, and any idea that you can fight one without it happening is ludicrous. We are trying to accommodate a request that is impossible, and it is endangering our troops. It's not their troops, it OUR troops, and they don't give a damn about OUR troops.

    I would ordinarily say that when you invade somebody's country you owe it to them to leave in a peaceful and reasonably stable state. Maybe we can do that in Iraq, but I really doubt it's possible in the Afgan case. Too big a proportion of the population there really just want to get back to killing each other.
    I don't think it is going to happen in either country. The poor in both countries want more power, and the people in power are determined to keep it. The common thread I see in both countries that really hamper any kind of success is the lack of drive of its people for fighting for their own freedom. Nobody can fight for your freedom, you have to.

    Biden has more discretion than McChrystal, but I recall at one point he said the most we should and can do is punish El Qaeda and others whose main intent is to attach western nations, but leave the Afgans to fight their own civil war. That was fundamentally good advice
    It is excellent advice!
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    9 Onkyo M-5099 power amp
    9 Onkyo M-510 power amp
    9 Onkyo M-508 power amp
    6 custom CAL amps for subs
    3 custom 3 way horn DSP hybrid monitors
    18 custom 3 way horn DSP hybrid surround/ceiling speakers
    2 custom 15" sealed FFEC servo subs
    4 custom 15" H-PAS FFEC servo subs
    THX Style Baffle wall

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