[Akhenaten]

poquas poquas:

Ok, let me ask you and anyone else who thinks there’s a hope in hell of winning.

Who do you kill? The old man who hates you for being there? The six year old kid who wants you dead because you are part of the invaders that killed his mother and as soon as he can is going to carry a gun or make bombs? The woman who’s teaching her children that you are evil and all those that look like you are evil?
How do you find them?

You can’t kill all the people who hate you or the values you represent. They are unidentifiable.

Your perception here is overblown and highly inaccurate. One need only glance at how many Afghans voted to start to chip away at this comment. You DO have your head stuck Vietnam. It's not old man, women or children who are planting IED's.

[poquas]

The election????

How many voted how many times for how many candidates. Give me a break. The election has become a huge embarrassment to NATO and the UN. But then of course you may like one like that here.

[Akhenaten]

Whatever. This election or the last, the sheer number of Afghans voting is not something you can answer with your all-roads-lead-to-Vietnam perception. Another example would be the schools. It's one thing to drive up with a military convoy and build a school, it takes another commitment level entirely to risk your childrens lives by sending them to said school. Afghans do this and not because they don't want to

$1:

But then of course you may like one like that here

No need for dribble like this just because I disagree with you. Smirky little comments like this illuminate your defensiveness on the issue.

[poquas]

Maybe the more important question is off all the cheerleaders here, how many are actually doing anything to support their views or like ridenrain is all talk?

How many of you are of the age to enlist and serve in Afghanistan, and why you aren’t there.

I’ve worked as a civilian consultant over the years for our military and have family involved right now on the ground. At 60, I’m exempt so at least I have an excuse. How many of you do, or is this just a good place for all you virtual Rambos to try and sound tough?

[Newfy]

Well i've been once already and i'm going again in January.

[ridenrain]

poquas poquas:

ridenrain ridenrain:

Who do we hit?
IED team.
Bomb making or material sourcing people.
Groups of young foreigners walking across the border from Pakistan to join the jihad.
We hit all of them and we do a very good job too.

You have your head stuck in old Vietnam movies.

Great! More cheerleading from someone who'd rather give advice but doesn't have the guts to enlist.

Sorry. Not taking that bait. Address the issues.

The fight is now at the stage where the taliban don't face us because they get killed when they do. The taliban and Al-Qaida leadership is also under constant and very effective attack on all sides of the border. Much of the insurgents are now coming in from foreign lands and they don't blend in with the locals.

The improvement in infrastructure, medicine and schools IS paying off and the average Afghan knows that life is far better than under the religious loons. This is where the police take over because their far better suited to rooting out terrorists because they live in the towns an they know the people. This is why NATO must train and improve the police so they can root out these weakened insurgents.

Insurgencies and guerrilla wars are defiantly winnable and we are definitely on the way to winning this one.

[Akhenaten]

poquas poquas:

Maybe the more important question is off all the cheerleaders here, how many are actually doing anything to support their views or like ridenrain is all talk?

Maybe. Then again maybe that's just a bullshit line of reasoning for someone who isn't there either. Simply because someone see's some good in Afghanistan or supports the mission is no reason to surrender all reasonable debate or discussion and simply start referring to them as virtual Rambos. If you're 60 then you're pretty childish and emotional.

I'm sure if I told you I had done 2 tours in Afghanistan and that your perception is flawed you'd just tell me I was lying so your point here doesn't really exist. You hear what you want to hear and nothing else...regardless of who's saying it.

[ridenrain]

Newfy Newfy:

Well i've been once already and i'm going again in January.

Thank you for you're service.

[poquas]

That's one who can back up their position, and two that would rather talk than do.

[ridenrain]

That one cancels you out, and by your rational, is better qualified than all of us.

[saturn_656]

poquas poquas:

Maybe the more important question is off all the cheerleaders here, how many are actually doing anything to support their views or like ridenrain is all talk?

Have you been organizing or attending anti-war demonstrations?

[Akhenaten]

poquas poquas:

That's one who can back up their position, and two that would rather talk than do.

No it's just one who can't respond maturely to a reasonable response. Your line of reasoning here is about grade 3 school yard level. My position was backed up.

[Newfy]

Only last week i was speaking to an Afghan now living in the UK. He gives briefings to us soldiers on the language and more importantly the culture of his people. I learned alot that day.

[Beej]

Maybe we should wait a bit and see how the surge turns out.

[Freakinoldguy]

Here's the scenario.

Either we win in Afghanistan or we relegate countless thousands to the well documented atrocities of a radical group of Muslim miltiants.

Basically if we walk we'd be making 80% of their country slaves to that warped version of religion.

It's easy to say walk away when it isn't most of our asses on the line, either as one of the troops or one of the victims. But alot of Canadian's, the good Senator excluded, still believe a promise is a promise and like it or not we promised these people a better life, and from all reports, so far we've given it to them.

If we fail in providing these people with that life and the protection from radicalism we promised, then we've failed our moral obligations.