After the air bombing campaign had routed the Taliban in 2001, joyful shouts of victory resonated in the United States, and the loudest coming from the white house and the Pentagon.
But these were short-lived as the characteristics afghan resistance began. The reason was that United States and his military has under estimated the enemy.
Not only that, they have also committed two strategic blunders, the consequences of which are being not only suffered by the American but also the Pakistani people.
The first blunder was to allow the Taliban to escape to Pakistan. Had they secured the Durand line crossing sites prior to initiates the air bombing campaign? The second blunder was to put their military effort in the wrong direction, Iraq which left the main theatre, Afghanistan, undermanned.
Instead admitting the mistakes, whit house blames to Pakistan for their failure in war against terrorism, even though Pakistan had done far more than them.
The new appointed commander namely Gen Stanley McChrytal just in one operation concludes that “the situation is serious”, and that he would need 40,000 more troops. He has thus placed the president in a serious dilemma.
The situation has become more serious all these years because of serious imbalance in the mission assigned and the resource allocated- only Gen McChrytal has found that out now. The mission assigned to the US military when it was first deployed in Afghanistan is yet to accomplish eight years on. Why? The pentagon needs to ponder over this.
All military planning begin after the mission assigned. The mission analyzed in several factors, the main ones being the enemy (size, strengths, weakness), and from these emerge the resources that would be required to accomplished the mission in the given timeframe.
The pentagon’s appreciation of the enemy was the serious flawed. Taliban fighters are highly motivated as they are fighting got freedom from foreign occupation like the American Partisan Patriots did during the War of Independence. They are skilled, tenacious, resilient, battle-hardened, cunning, and masters of surprise and improvisation. Since time is always on the side of guerrillas, their strategy to war sown the enemy by making them bleed from a thousand wounds. History records that almost all military defeats were caused by one factor alone- misappreciation of enemy.
What was the mission assigned to the Gen McChrystal when he was appointed to the top post in Afghanistan? He was expected to defeat the insurgency, or at least create condition that allows the US troops to withdraw gracefully, which his predecessors fail to do. That the US high command is taking their time on his request for more troops, clearly suggestion hat he was to make do with the resources already there.
Gen McChrytal declared priority to secure Afghan population centers until Afghan forces are ready to assume responsibility for their country by 2013. Four to five years more? What would he do when his battlefield, which is presently confined to the southern and eastern parts of the country, is extended by the Taliban to the rest of the country?
How many more troops would he ten ask for?
A defensive counter-insurgency strategy can never succeed as it leave initiate with the guerillas. Finally history would repeat itself when are forced out Vietnam style. The only way Afghan population centers can be secured and people’s support won is through an offensive strategy that aims to dominate, and then defeat the insurgency. Thus, a sequence of operational movements would have to be initiated to up for the lost time: first, to secure the Durand line crossing sites to prevent the Guerillas from escaping to Pakistan; second isolate the area selected for the operation to prevent their escape from it; third to secure the mountains to deny their use as sanctuaries; and finally, to force them into the valleys for taking hem out by ground and air –delivered firepower.
An offensive strategy would need far more troops. The Americans went to Afghanistan to fight a war. They should plan to win it- unless they want to be known as superpower defeated twice by Guerillas. Blaming Pakistan and prodding it to ‘do more’ would not win the war for them.
But these were short-lived as the characteristics afghan resistance began. The reason was that United States and his military has under estimated the enemy.
Not only that, they have also committed two strategic blunders, the consequences of which are being not only suffered by the American but also the Pakistani people.
The first blunder was to allow the Taliban to escape to Pakistan. Had they secured the Durand line crossing sites prior to initiates the air bombing campaign? The second blunder was to put their military effort in the wrong direction, Iraq which left the main theatre, Afghanistan, undermanned.
Instead admitting the mistakes, whit house blames to Pakistan for their failure in war against terrorism, even though Pakistan had done far more than them.
The new appointed commander namely Gen Stanley McChrytal just in one operation concludes that “the situation is serious”, and that he would need 40,000 more troops. He has thus placed the president in a serious dilemma.
The situation has become more serious all these years because of serious imbalance in the mission assigned and the resource allocated- only Gen McChrytal has found that out now. The mission assigned to the US military when it was first deployed in Afghanistan is yet to accomplish eight years on. Why? The pentagon needs to ponder over this.
All military planning begin after the mission assigned. The mission analyzed in several factors, the main ones being the enemy (size, strengths, weakness), and from these emerge the resources that would be required to accomplished the mission in the given timeframe.
The pentagon’s appreciation of the enemy was the serious flawed. Taliban fighters are highly motivated as they are fighting got freedom from foreign occupation like the American Partisan Patriots did during the War of Independence. They are skilled, tenacious, resilient, battle-hardened, cunning, and masters of surprise and improvisation. Since time is always on the side of guerrillas, their strategy to war sown the enemy by making them bleed from a thousand wounds. History records that almost all military defeats were caused by one factor alone- misappreciation of enemy.
What was the mission assigned to the Gen McChrystal when he was appointed to the top post in Afghanistan? He was expected to defeat the insurgency, or at least create condition that allows the US troops to withdraw gracefully, which his predecessors fail to do. That the US high command is taking their time on his request for more troops, clearly suggestion hat he was to make do with the resources already there.
Gen McChrytal declared priority to secure Afghan population centers until Afghan forces are ready to assume responsibility for their country by 2013. Four to five years more? What would he do when his battlefield, which is presently confined to the southern and eastern parts of the country, is extended by the Taliban to the rest of the country?
How many more troops would he ten ask for?
A defensive counter-insurgency strategy can never succeed as it leave initiate with the guerillas. Finally history would repeat itself when are forced out Vietnam style. The only way Afghan population centers can be secured and people’s support won is through an offensive strategy that aims to dominate, and then defeat the insurgency. Thus, a sequence of operational movements would have to be initiated to up for the lost time: first, to secure the Durand line crossing sites to prevent the Guerillas from escaping to Pakistan; second isolate the area selected for the operation to prevent their escape from it; third to secure the mountains to deny their use as sanctuaries; and finally, to force them into the valleys for taking hem out by ground and air –delivered firepower.
An offensive strategy would need far more troops. The Americans went to Afghanistan to fight a war. They should plan to win it- unless they want to be known as superpower defeated twice by Guerillas. Blaming Pakistan and prodding it to ‘do more’ would not win the war for them.
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