The war was unwinnable from the start.
most wars are
It depends on how you define “winning”. If winning just means eliminating Taliban in Afghanistan, that’s easy - just nuke the whole place. The problem is that “winning” here means “make Afghan people love their US overlords”, which of course, is more complicated. Insurgency in Afghanistan is a product of Afghan people disapproving of US occupation. They might call it “Taliban” or whatever, but it’s basically bunch of disgruntled people who hate the US. There probably isn’t even a real central organization or anything.
There is a real central organization. And it is also obvious who is backing this real central organization.
The fact is the US stupidly forced Pakistan to go along with the WOT plans and expected them to actually cooperate in the long run (against the very group that Pakistan has installed for its own strategic purposes!). What did Bush think was going to happen after the US left? Suddenly Afghanistan would turn into an American outpost replete with McDonalds and Walmart?
Whether that was arrogance, or just cluelessness, I don’t know.
Frankly, the only realistic option I see for the United States is to go the traditional route - hire a brutal (but secular) local dictator who is going to rule with an iron fist and crush dissent among other ethnic minorities. Somebody who will be a reliable enemy of Iran, and an ally of Pakistan (but not too friendly). Similar to…Saddam Hussein… The most effective way to do this would be through a military-based authoritarian state, (think Egypt). I don’t see any other route.
The reason these guys do this is because we don’t make them respect us. What do these guys respect? Power. Ruthlessness. If we want their love we need to f*ck them until they love us. Unfortunately, we are a bunch of wimps nowadays and are too liberal to treat war like men. So they look at us as weak.
these guys live like animals…in caves…no women…not even videos…
What I mean is that some small insurgent groups probably operate somewhat independently and claim affiliation with the Taliban, but make their own decisions. So, it’s hard to track down the chain of command, since each cave might be its own brain. There might be some funding flow from centralized sources, but like the chain of command, its probably irregular and hard to track.
how do these guys make money again? how do they acquire funds to buy missles and food?
They shorted Facebook.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/09/11/uk-afghanistan-un-taliban-idUKBRE88A13W20120911
(Reuters) - The Taliban raised about $400 million (249 million pounds) last year from sources that included donations, taxing local economies and extorting money from such targets as drug dealers, cell phone operators and aid projects, according to a U.N. report on the militant Islamist group released on Tuesday.
thats quite impressive…
I would like to see them try to ‘extort’ the mexican cartels.
Are serious? The Mexican cartels would be ripped to shreds by groups like the Taliban. While the cartels are certainly brutal, they are driven by money and power. The Taliban are thuggish, but they are driven by religious fanaticism and are willing to die for their cause. Mexican cartel members are willing to kill for their wallets, which is a big difference. If US law enforcement really wanted to put Mexican cartels out of business, and had full cooperation from the Mexican government, they could do it in less than a year.
^ This.
Taliban developed their skills in war against the Red Army and grew to power by crushing other groups and genocide on multiple peoples. Mexican cartels are nothing.
Meh, cartels are better funded and they hire mercs so I’m not so sure. Now, are we talking about dropping cartel members in the Afgan back-country and seeing how they do? Sure, I’m taking the home team. But on a neutral playing field, say the Rose Bowl, I’ll take the cartel.
True. The mexican cartels have crazy superior weapons though when it comes to ground combat and urban combat. But yes, perhaps not as disciplined as the taliban. And I willing to bet their food tastes much better.
this is a stupid discussion, why would the mexican cartel go and start a war with taliban…i’m pretty sure if the taliban started disrupting their trafficking operations, they would get it…i’m more scared of the russian mob…
^ of course it’s a stupid discussion, and impossible to “win”, that’s what makes it fun.
It’s like discussing if KK got into a fight with Salma Hayek. Who would win?
Does anyone really care who wins as long as there is baby oil involved and we get to watch?