When some 15,000 US-led troops invaded the tiny farming community of Marjah last month, the strategy was supposed to be simple. Troops would quickly clear the region, an operation expected to take a matter of days, and then turn the region over to Afghan police to “hold.”
But as the operation, presented by officials as a “test” for a much larger offensive against the city of Kandahar, has taken much longer than anticipated and the “hold” strategy seems to be falling apart as well.
This was supposed to be the job of the Afghan police, but as the offensive struggles the Taliban seems to have remained largely intact, even as US troops make high profile victory photo ops in the center of town and the Afghan government lauds the offensive’s success. Afghan police, long of limited utility as security forces, let alone law enforcement in the corrupt nation, seem not to be trusted to hold the region in the face of any serious threat, and with weeks of media coverage of the offensive, a quick “victory” and a quick Taliban return is something NATO needs desperately to avoid.
How long do you think these "police" will last once the US troops leave?
This “war” has already been lost before it even started.
Our country and our military are being led by madmen. What do they think they are doing? I'm afraid they will implement the Salvador / Iraq option, provoke the Northerners to massacre the Pashtun with NATO support. But even that won't "work."
The article stated that "15,000 US-led troops invaded the tiny farming community of Marjah." The truth of the matter is this: these US soldiers are not fighting and laying their lives on the line to defend their native land and their kinfolks from an attack by an aggressive nation. In fact, the country and people of Afghanistan has never attacked America. Whether they realize it or not, these US soldiers are fighting and laying their lives on the line for an aggressive war in Afghanistan on behalf of Wall Street big-business interests that want to build a trans-Afghan oil pipeline. Tell me now, is this something average Americans should be willing to fight and die for? If the bankers and oil industry CEO's of Wall Street want to invade the Middle East and wage endless war in order to steal its resources and build oil pipelines then let them send their sons and daughters to do the bleeding and the dying. Better yet, issue the Wall Street CEO's weapons M16's and uniforms and let them have a go at it. Knowing those craven liars, thieves and back-stabbing cowardly murderers, the war would be over in a matter of hours – and the final outcome wouldn't be to their likeing either.