Hi LindyBill; Re: "We can't get away with it, but we would probably be better off to kill off any Al Queda we can find, pull out, and go back in if they get back in power. The threat of us going back in would probably keep them out of power. Hack did a recent column on this, and was pissed about the attrition rate we are suffering,at the moment, in casualties there. We are probably going to take more, and for no good reason."
Well said. But I don't agree with Hackworth's assessment that we're failing in our duties there. (See #reply-17961404) In particular, he wrote: "Each day, with the warlords acting increasingly like Mafia dons in a Chicago turf war, there's more instability."
My analysis of the situation is that it is the warlords that keep the peace in the region. The alternative was the Taliban, who kept a more quiet peace, but the warlords are preferable both to us and to the locals. And I don't seem to be hearing about reports of bombings of wedding ceremonies recently, so I would guess that we're winning hearts and minds.
-- Carl |
