Hi Pearly_Button; Re setting up a firebase and saying "come and get it."
For all the talk about how the Afghans or Taliban are different, there is a long tradition of militaristic nations being subdued only through that sort of tactic. That is, they'll keep fighting until it has been proved to them that they have met an enemy who is better than them in all ways.
The British had that problem with the Zulus. After the disaster at Isandalwanda (more officers were killed there than at Waterloo) the British repeatedly defeated Shaka from behind fixed fortifications (read from the sky). But the Zulus just kept coming back for more because they thought that the British were cowards who were unable to meet them face to face.
When the British figured out this psychology, they arranged for a meeting in the open, and defeated the Zulu there:
The final battle of the Zulu War of 1879 took place on the plain of Ulundi.
A force of 4 166 white and 1 005 black troops, two Gatling guns and 12 Field guns under Lord Chelmsford, formed a square, and provoked the Zulus to attack. The battle lasting from 08h30 to 09h30 resulted in the total defeat of the Zulu army.
The Zulu force of between 15 000 and 20 000 commanded by Siwedu, Mnyamana, Dabulamanzi and Mtshingwayo, had about 1 500 dead. The British suffered a loss of 12 dead.
battlefields.co.za
Gatling guns against spears. This is about what a land confrontation between the US and the Taliban would be like, but until it happens the Taliban will continue to believe that they can never be defeated on the ground.
It's the knowledge of the inevitability of defeat that makes nations quit fighting, not the actual death of all the soldiers. This is why the US psyops against the Taliban is heavy on the concept of the hopelessness of their cause against US military might.
Note that in their propaganda, the Taliban is minimizing their own losses and exaggerating US losses. This is because they know that their cause is only valid if God demonstrates his support for them. Since He hasn't shown up with bolts of lightening for some time, they know that they have to do the dirty work themselves, so they challenge the US to a confrontation on the ground.
If we set up a firebase on the ground somewhere reasonably close to Kandahar it might be just the thing.
-- Carl
P.S. Isandalwana is a proud moment in Zulu history, and they have lots of stuff for tourists there:
classicretreats.co.za |
