<they have moved in with the common folks and if they get any crap from them they simply kill them or worse.>
This is standard anti-guerilla propaganda. This is exactly, word for word, what U.S. officials said about the Vietnamese killing American soldiers in the 1960s, and the Phillipinos killing American soldiers in the 1890s, and every guerrilla force we've ever fought. Recycled Mythology.
This is how we lose these wars, or win them only with immense violence (leaving behind a legacy of hatred, which eventually comes back to haunt us). The Moros in the Southern Phillipines still hate us, for what we did to them 105 years ago. We begin with the assumption that guerrillas have no support among the population they operate in. Then we use a policy of 100% Force, and 0% persuasion, against our enemies. Inevitably, the soldiers in the field can't tell friend from foe from neutral, so a lot of random violence is inflicted on neutrals and friends, turning them into foes. We kill one guerrilla, using methods that create two new guerrilla recruits. The Israelis have been doing this for 35 years in their colonies, and have yet to defeat the Palestinians. The Indians have been doing this since 1948 in Kashmir, and have yet to "pacify" that province. We will have the same experience. |
