Inexact Possibilities: Politics at the Cutting Edge
October 28th, 2009 | Uncategorized
A Sobering Statistic in Afghanistan
I wrote in my intro post that I wished to understand the situation in Afghanistan better. Here’s a start, and it’s a stark one.
According to the AP, international troops and Afghan security forces outnumber Taliban insurgents 12-1. Twelve to one!
So why aren’t we winning?
Tags: Afghanistan, Associated Press
October 30th, 2009 at 6:00 pm
Because (1) we don’t even know what “victory” looks like. (2) We don’t have a sound regime on behalf of whom we’re fighting. (3) regardless of whom we’re fighting for, we’re seen as foreign invaders. (4) didn’t we learn in Vietnam that gross disparities in force do not inevitably lead to military victory, particularly given ##1-3 above?