No Fighting Near Afghan Homes ?
65Soldier's Face More Danger
New Rule's
New Rule: No Fighting Near Afghan Homes.The Troop's will soon be ordered (within days) to no longer be allowed to fight militants hiding in Afghan houses. Why because 829 innocent lives got lost. Apparently by forcing our Soldier's to not engage, will bring more safety to the Afghan peoples. I gotta ask,..what about our Soldier's ? Will the afghan people takes sides with who ever pays them the most or has a gun to their head ? I can't help but worrie that this will make our Troop's sitting ducks.
9/11 is why we went their, to seek out Bin Laden and bring some sort of justice to the families who lost their loved ones that day. Not to play around, nor play hide and seek from the militants. We have the Best of the Best military but with rules like those it just seems as if our troop's will have their hands tied even more. When was there rules in war before ? And I ask,..why did we spill the blood of 1,000 of our sons and daughters blood to push them out of the villages, and back into the caves they belong in, Will this give the tali-bans a free pass back in ?
In these 2 video's below it will show how local villagers protect the insurgents within their villages and what that means to our Soldier's,..Our Sons. This was taped on Nov.12,2007, Six years into the battle. * ( The 2 video's I know are kind of long, but I feel it really needs to be revisited, at least if nothing else i ask you to watch part 2. As hard as it is to watch, this is the truth, and the truth must be seen by every citizen who is enjoying their freedom at home. )
Nightline in Afghanistan - Part One of Two
Nightline in Afghanistan - Part Two of Two
Why The Rule's ?
What I would like to know is how are we to win, when rules say be careful not to hurt the innocent ? Well in those video's above, it appears to me that some of the villagers are not so innocent after all, especialy when they are hiding the militants and refuse to tell of their where abouts. The villagers get in front of the camera screaming and crying look what the U.S. did,..what did we do, shoot back when we were shot at, hell yes we did, as we should have.
But do know this,..Our Troop's Go Above and Beyond To Save Innocent Lives,...
So why the rule's ???
A couple of months ago in eastern Nangarhar province, an explosion occurred killing a 6 year old boy and wounded 20. Once again the afghans screamed look what the US did, what they didn't scream was, that about 100 yards away in a cave their was weapons and explosives stored by the militants in which ignited on their own. If the villagers would have cooperated with our Soldier's and led them to this cave, this would have probably would have not happened,..but again, they knowingly hid the facts.
As it stood last year, we were having shortages in weapons and artillery for our Soldiers to fight with, not to mention in Dec. 2008 it was reported the helmets some of our Troop's wore (Out on the front lines) was found that the helmets might worsen a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and even act as a "focusing mechanism" for shock waves during a blast caused by an improvised explosive device (IED). http://www.free-press-release.com/news/200812/1228940268.html
I also want to bring up the fact that the uniforms that our sons and daughters have been wearing in Afghanistan provided no real camouflage protection according to reports, but 8 years later they are starting to fix that eror by replacing them. http://www.bouhammer.com/?s=new+camouflage+uniforms+for+afghanistan+
In the video below, you will here the Soldier's say they feel forgotten and there isn't enough weapons. If they say they feel forgotten, then maby we here back at home need to listen why.
Soldier's Say They Feel Forgotten 2008
IS OBAMA'S POLICIES MAKING SITUATION WORSE IN AFGHANISTAN ?
Back in May of this year Graham E. Fuller who is a former CIA chief in Kabul and a former vice-chair of the CIA's National Intelligence Council made some observations that I think more people need to hear about. He stated and I quote," For all the talk of "smart power," President Obama is pressing down the same path of failure in Pakistan marked out by George Bush. The realities suggest need for drastic revision of U.S. strategic thinking". He also pointed out:
* Crisis will only grow worse and Military force will not win the day.
* The Taliban represent mountain Islamists which are also Pashtuns. The Pashtuns sees the Taliban the "vehicle" for restoration of Pashtun power in Afghanistan which was lost because of our invasion in 2001.
* We will never secure the Pakistan - Afghanistan boarder because their is twice as many Pashtuns in Pakistan as there are in Afghanistan.
* Since India is a threat to Pakistan, Pakistan must always maintain Afghanistan as a friendly state and with India wanting to get a foothold in Afghanistan, Pakistan is threatened.
* Pakistan will never break ties with the Pashtun, for they can't afford it.
* Hatred is created by occupation & Pashtuns are indeed quick to ally themselves at home with al-Qaida against the U.S. military.
* Because U.S. policies have now carried over the Pakistan's border with drone bombings the situation in Pakistan has gone from bad to worse. Fuller asks, Do you remember the invasion of Cambodia to save Vietnam?
* Pashtun rule in the Northwest Frontier Province in Pakistan will not be transformed by invasion or war.
* Pakistan is beginning to break due to the pressures of U.S.in Which strengthening Islamic radicalism even by non-Islamists for Anti-American impulses.
My Last Thoughts
This is the Families worst fears,...It is our REALALITIES !!!!!!!!!!!
OUR REALALITIES
Whats on your mind,..
With these new rules, Is it time to pull out ?
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Comments
Thanks Dale,
I think what you wrote is a perfect analogy because you speak from the heart,..I am very fortunate because my sons deployment over there ended 9 days ago and he's on his way back to the states as we speak. I too have enjoyed talking with you. You are a good guy my friend,...
Afghanistan will be a mess for years to come and it has been a mess since 1979. Unfortunately I think at this point there is little good we can do there, and sending more troops there is meaningless really. I do have respect for American soldiers, but I say this because there is little soldiers can do straighten out the situation there. Personally I think all life is valuable, and it is a tough call when they say do not fight near civilian houses as not all civilians would be hiding Taliban members. Same to American soldiers it is not fair to put them in that situation either.
I really think at this point it would be better if the US withdrew from Iraq and Afghanistan. Do not think I have disrespect for US soldiers because both of my grandpas served in World War II, and my dad served in Vietnam. However, with these two recent conflicts we have made very little headway, and actually these have been breeding grounds for more terrorists that are now using occupation as a reason to fight. It would be better if the US did not have to be playing the world police anymore, and if we were only involved in conflicts that were more along the lines of UN joint efforts. It puts way too much heat on our troops and breeds unfair animosity towards American soldiers, whom I do not feel should have to be in that situation.
Bring them all home. Not only from Afghanistan.
Amen Misha. That's what happens when you put political generals in control of warfare. You think we would have learned after Vietnam, but no. AIM, I'm sorry but when we went over there it was never about getting bin Laden and those other Al Qaeda guys, it was about establishing a presence there and "keeping an eye on things". Going in and bagging bin Laden did not require the entire panoply of the US military. However, since we fund the military by "use it or lose it" rules, they had to do what they did, so their funding wouldn't be cut. It all comes down to politics.
Now we're spread out all over the world, our economy is in shambles due in part to the costs of dealing with all this and now we have politically correct morons in charge passing along criminal orders that will get our boys killed. Obama couldn't better recreate the conditions that created the Vietnam protests if he tried. His PC sensibilities are hurt because people are dying, innocents even. Guess what, it's a war, that's what happens. If you can't handle it, shut down operations. But instead he wants to half-ass his way through it ans hope it goes away. The problem is that he'll be killing our boys and girls not insurgents. That'll come back to bite him in the ass one day.
Well there have to be certain rules regarding civilian populations, which is a lesson we learned in Japan at the end of World War II, and Vietnam. However, I really do not see the point of keeping US troops in the region.
SweetiePie - I totally agree with you, I believe we're at cross raods and just need to make the right desion and thats to come home. I have seen numerous videos of the devestation this war has brought to the people there, I seen the childern dying. I seen the Soldiers risking their lives to provide humanitarian efforts, I seen the government does not have enough to provide for the humanitarian efforts. Thanks for your comment, Always welcomed to leave them.
MISHA - Thumbs Up !! I
Ledefensetech - You are absolutly right when it comes to thats not why we are over there(Iraq),..I probally should of slowed down when writing this,..what I was trying to get out was that our sons and daughters joined because of 9/11. Bush had his own adgenda,...The only ones who held their adgenda for the right reasons were those Brave men and women that signed up after 9/11. Thumbs up on your anagoly of Obama,..I could'nt of said it better. Yes it will bite him on the ass,..but it will also sadly bite a lot of Soldiers and their families in the ass too,.and well that just well,..*(*&^$%^&* me off.
SweetiePie - Being a World Police shouldn't be our job,..you are so very right !!
At least you are bringing awareness to this issue, which I think many need to see. I just started reading a book called I Love A Man In Uniform, about this lady's experience being married to a military officer. I am not that far into the book, but it seems interesting so far. She is a bit more wild than I am though :).
It seems to me, that this new ruling will cause the militants to invade more Afgan Homes. This is not good news for the Afgan people.
Update: The house floor voted today about an exit strategy in Afghanistan. Good news: the majority of House Democrats voted in supporting such exits,..Sadly,..The House republicians voted against it,..leading to its defeat. I will be writing more about this in a upcoming hub. I also want to point out that when I say it's time to pull out, it's not because I don't believe our Troops can't get the job done,..its because the government is setting them up for failure. Our Soldiers kick ass and nobody in the world is better then them.
SweetiePie - hmmm, I'm gonna have to look into getting that book. I love reading stuff by people who are personally affected by this. I learn such insight,..and its that insight that drives my passion to speak out and get involved. For the past year I have ran two websites that connects me to Soldiers and their families on a very personal level,..I love our Soldier's,. so when I speak out I'm doing it from the bottom of my heart.
This lady is not the typical military wife is what I meant, but the book is interesting. I will be curious to check out your sites, and I can tell you write from the bottom of your heart.
P.S. You should link to the sites on your hub profile so we can read them. I just went there now, but I do not see your sites listed on the profile.
Papermoon - Thanks for leaving your comment - I watched about 50 videos last night on that subject and one video the Afghans said they would rather have the mililtants in their house than the US standing outside of it. I am trying like hell to find that video again. It was intresting an quite an eye opener.
Thanks SweetiePie for asking about my sites - the first one i opened about 3 hours after my son left to go to the plane, it is on Myspace http://myspace.com/bringoursoldiershome
After I had such a huge success I decided to take it a step further,..I bought and designed http://OperationStandByMe.com I get sponsers localally and in many states around the US to send care packages and letters. I network with some really awesome organizations, and have made many great friends.
AIM, I'm sure the Sunni's in Iraq would have said the same thing several years ago, at least until Al Qaeda in Iraq started enforcing their version of sharia law. The same will happen in Afghanistan. We should pull out and let it happen. The next time they do something like 9/11, we don't go in with the whole military, we start at the top of Al Qaeda and work our way down. The next militant group that starts their anti-American nonsense will think twice with that example in front of them.
ledefensetech - I do think they will think twice also,...
"Our Soldier's will be sitting ducks. I'm sorry but I believe the value of our American Soldier's lives are much more important than the ones who hide them tali-bastards in their house."
It's not binary like that. Firstly, a lot of people who do hide the Taliban are acting out of fear or under duress. They aren't easy people to say "no" to. And a lot of civilians have nothing to do with the Taliban (or neo-Taliban) at all.
Conflicts such as those in Afghanistan can't be won purely through military means. The attitudes of the people there are just as important, and the killing of civilians turns people against the West.
LG, that may be so, but you don't have to see your brothers and sisters come home maimed because of the orders of some idiot who has no idea how to run the military or takes advice form his generals that know their business. By giving the Taliban a safe place to hide, they will take ruthless advantage of it. At least when people thought the US military could have a shootout in their homes, that would encourage some of them to kick the Taliban out. Now the Taliban will force their way into those homes and use those families as hostages while killing US soldiers. Believe me, orders or not, it won't take many casualties before our kids start fighting regardless. The bodycount will be much higher after this order is issued rather than smaller. And many more innocents will be caught in the middle than would have been had this order never been announced.
LondonGirl, You are a very caring person,..I appreciate you sharing your thoughts. I have done a lot of research on the ways of the Tali-Bastard's, "When Tali-B's are part of that community and live amongst the people, when the Americans arrive, they have to go the house where their brother is, where their family is, so when (Americans] come to their house to kill them, they will kill their families, too. Thats why you often see a woman and child on top of a building that contained Tali's inside waiting to AMBUSH our Soldier's while they pass through on patrol, exspecting to talk and reason with the villiagers. Anybody really wanna see the truth go on to you tube and type in Soldiers being ambushed in Afghanistan. The word Hell, does'nt even describe it.
Ledefensetech - You are so sadly right,..The statistics are looking very bad. there has been a 64% increase in insurgent attacks, an 80% increase in IED attacks, a 90% increase in attacks on the Afghan government based in Kabul, and that ISAF (which is mainly comprised of US forces) deaths were up 55%, And those were from May 16th - Before this new rule, So now I got to think, the statistics will only go up even more. It's scarry.
I hope no more war. The world become peace forever.
Dale Mazurek says:
6 months ago
Just like everyone else I pay attention to whats going on overseas with a part eye with everything else thats goin on in life.
From meeting you I know you have a deeply vested interest in knowing whats going on at all times.
Personally, I think this is beyond ludicrous.
This falls in the category of hide and seek, Tag or pin the tail on the donkey
Im sure every single Parent,sibling,wife,daughter,son,auntie,uncle,grandparent and friend who has mourned a loved one from the war has had a pinata at the funeral.
Im also sure every parent like yourself wakes up every morning sending their son a note that says play nice.
Im sorry, maybe this isnt a great analogy and maybe Im not even qualified to write about this but if we cant allow the very people that are risking their lives for our freedom to do what they set out to do then we must bring them home immediatley.
You write great hubs and I follow you because you are a real person with a real interest in this. Not to mention the kind words we have shared.
I hope your son can come home real soon before this stupidity gets out of hand.
Take care