Rick Raw: Afghanistan War Drags On with Nothing to Show for It But More Casualties

By Rick Grant Commentary rickgrant01@comcast.net

President Obama says" the Afghanistan War drawdown will happen next summer as scheduled, but it will be much slower than expected." He went on to say, "What we’re looking to do is difficult–very difficult–but it’s a fairly modest goal, which is: Don’t allow terrorists to operate from this region. Don’t’ allow them to create big training camps and to plan attacks against the U.S. homeland with impunity," Obama said on CBS’ "Sunday Morning" in a "Time" piece.

But as the documents revealed by Wikileak.com, there is chaos and indecision in the officer ranks as the war drags on with nothing to show for it. The Taliban attack us at will with IEDs and ground assaults on our outposts.

American combat deaths are rising rapidly. Soldiers committing suicide back in the states is also on the rise, as troop morale and support at home wanes for this unwinnable war. Even Obama doesn’t think we’ll ever establish a democracy in the entire country.

This July was the deadliest month for U.S. troops in the nearly 9-year war with 66 troops killed. Officers predict that the death toll will rise as the U.S. troops penetrate deeper into Taliban held territory.

Yet, the Taliban and insurgency have unlimited man power and weapons resources as they conduct their guerilla war with fresh Jihadists flowing in from the border area’s enemy stronghold just inside the Pakistan border. They don’t mind dying. In fact,` they look forward to Paradise

Our military leadership has never fully adjusted to a guerilla styled war in which our enemy is engaged. They continue to blow up Humvees at will with powerful IEDs using wired together artillery shells from Iran.

Knowing this, why do our officers continue to send troops out in convoys of Humvees and other vehicles? It’s crazy. The convoys are sitting ducks. The Taliban use donkeys to carry their supplies and ammunition on hidden mountain trails.

They live in primitive conditions in caves and are hungry most of the time. Indeed, they are committed to Jihad for Centuries not years and will move into our positions when we leave, laughing at our stupidity.

Clearly, Pakistan has not done enough to drive the Taliban out of the border region. They thrive there, getting supplies from Iran and their Pakistani partisans. No one wants to say we can’t win in Afghanistan, but it’s the truth, unless we get full support from Pakistan.

In the "Time" piece, Admiral Mullen acknowledged that "time and patience are short, and that all the fighting so far has not neutralized the Taliban as a military force."

Hell, we are the biggest damn fighting force in the world with high tech weapons and surveillance and we can’t beat a bunch of nomads wearing skirts? Who’s running this war–a bunch of incompetent fools?

So go to where the Taliban are located and bomb them to the stone age. Part of the problem is: We don’t know exactly where the Taliban and insurgency is hold up. It’s mountainous terrain with caves everywhere.

Another problem is, we are not allowed to enter Pakistan’s borders. We know that certain factions of the Pakistan government are sympathetic to the Taliban cause.

Still, it’s tragic and disheartening to keep losing troops and not make any progress in wiping out the Taliban. We’ve got to fight their kind of war using small groups of special forces to find and destroy the Taliban’s headquarters.

Yet, time and time again, American troops go out in convoys that might as well have big targets painted on the side. One Army corporal said on a recent CNN documentary, "Well today, I’m going out to get blown up."

Establishing remote outposts near the border is asking to get attacked and over-run. We are big and clunky with noisy armored vehicles. It’s like we’re saying, "Hey, here we are, attack us."

U.S. troops wear uniforms with American flags on the lapel. Dress our troops in native garb and make our presence a smaller target. And, don’t go out in Humvees just begging to get blown up by an IED.

Of all my suggestions to the bonehead generals, getting the Pakistan government to let us invade the border region and cooperate with us is the most important factor in defeating the Taliban.

Otherwise, I fear we’re already mired in a no-win Vietnam styled war, taking casualties for no reason or objective.

When we leave, the Taliban will again take over the hinterlands..