Pot-Kettle-Black – People Die

January 17, 2008

Gates’ views, however, reflect those expressed recently by senior U.S. military officials with responsibility for Afghanistan. Some have said that an overreliance on heavy weaponry, including airstrikes, by NATO forces in the south may unwittingly be contributing to rising violence there.
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"The wide view there, which I hear from Americans, is that the NATO military forces are taking on a Soviet mentality," said one senior U.S. military veteran of Afghanistan. "They’re staying in their bases in the south, they’re doing very little patrolling, they’re trying to avoid casualties, and they’re using air power as a substitute for ground infantry operations, because they have so little ground infantry."
Gates faults NATO force in southern Afghanistan, Jan 16, 2008

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The U.S. military conducted more than five times as many airstrikes in Iraq last year as it did in 2006, targeting al-Qaeda safe houses, insurgent bombmaking facilities and weapons stockpiles in an aggressive strategy aimed at supporting the U.S. troop increase by overwhelming enemies with air power.
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"Part of this is announcing our presence to the adversary," said Kahl, who recently returned from a trip to the air operations center. "Across this calendar year you will see a reduction in U.S. forces, so there will be fewer troops to support Iraqi forces. One would expect a continued level of airstrikes because of offensive operations, and as U.S. forces begin to draw down you may see even more airstrikes."
U.S. Boosts Its Use of Airstrikes In Iraq, Jan 17, 2008

Posted by b on January 17, 2008 at 08:23 UTC | Permalink

Comments

They might have a little more success if they would drop food instead of bombs. Have our troops shoot more pool instead of more people.

Posted by: mikefromtexas | Jan 18 2008 0:10 utc | 1

the basic hideousness of u s policy is in its following that old dictum – first time tragedy, second time farce – when in both vietnam & in afghanistan – it dropped toys on villages where in the previous weeks thay had dropped bombs
it drove the german exiled poet erich fried to write – that if they had had the decency to drop the toys first – then perhaps the children would have had something to play with in the weeks before they were bombed

Posted by: remembereringgiap | Jan 18 2008 1:21 utc | 2

It might be worth pointing out to Gates et al that the NATO allies don’t have the ground infantry because they aren’t pillaging their economies for money to squander on a ‘war’ that at least one of them has already fought – and lost twice – in the past.
There was an excellent article in the New Yorker a couple of months ago about the efforts to eradicate the opium crop in one province of Afghanistan. It highlighted the American disdain for, and frustration with, the efforts of the Dutch who, recognizing that local people needed the crop to buy themselves food and basic living necessities, have opted for a long-term plan to turn the local economies away from opium. The Americans, however, were shown as a crew of self-described rednecks – mostly mercenaries – jacked up on adrenalin, whose only strategy was destruction. They quite happily drove accross fields planted with food crops to get to the opium, and then wondered why they were ambushed.

Posted by: Tantalus | Jan 18 2008 3:35 utc | 3

T: All of which fades to black before this:
Mr. McGuire: I want to say one word to you. Just one word.
Benjamin: Yes, sir.
Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?
Benjamin: Yes, I am.
Mr. McGuire: i13.tinypic.com/715pc2g.jpg
Benjamin: Just how do you mean that, sir?

Posted by: Petey | Jan 18 2008 4:38 utc | 4

I’m still trying to figure out what the “North Atlantic Treaty Organization” is doing in a place like Afghanistan to begin with. I wouldn’t exactly call it their backyard.

Posted by: Ensley | Jan 18 2008 14:33 utc | 5

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