We're the Military and Airpower Guys of Jonah Goldberg of National Review Online + a stray we found wandering around looking lost. All original material JHD, BHD, JR, WT, and KA 2003-2010 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/03/winning_the_war_1.html Sat, 24 Mar 2012 15:20:57 Z Movable Type 4.12 en Copyright 2012 http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/03/winning_the_war_1.html http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/03/winning_the_war_1.html Thu, 26 Mar 2009 06:59:57 -0600
Actually, much of the problem in Afghan today, and tracing back to when it went fallow after the initial push, is directly due to so many of our "allies" being worse than worthless when it comes to warfighting.

They promised lots and provided nearly nothing, and what they did provide came with so many strings attached that it ends up as a net neg.

Not all our allies are so bent, but  too many of them are.

There is also the brain dead idiocy of the ISAF command structure, 6 month rotating commands, each national contengient willing to fight demanding its own AO, doing things its own way and with very little effort to actually coordinate anything between themselves in any way at all.

Incompetence is the rule of the day when ever such structures are put in place. It's a mandatory part of the process. And is also mandatory for any time we need to call upon the europers for anything.

You can blame the usual in laying it all on Rums and/or Bush, but you do know damn well that there has not been anything different in any operation that ever involved european forces for a long time. And the more time goes on, the worse the parasitism has gotten. Now, there's not a single european nation that can actually field a force honestly competent for its own defense against an aggressor.

That such a compromise with the multi-culti idiot left in our own country in its irrational need to be seen as nothing more than a minor player in anything of importance is, quite honestly, just another sad indictment to how far we have sunk as a nation by a full generation of appeasing the knee jerk anti-American elements born among us.

Now, take yourself to any forum or blog dealing with Afghan by foreigners who have forces in Afghanistan and you'll see all the gasping squeals about the area being "Americanized" and all the misery, horror and doom that that entails.]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/03/winning_the_war_1.html#comment-86522 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/03/winning_the_war_1.html#comment-86522 Sun, 29 Mar 2009 21:14:24 -0600
And clearly, towards the end of the Bush era, a decision was made (or, alternatively, decisions were *not* made, which, of course, *is* a decision in itself) to leave Afghanistan to the Obama administration.

They're putting out their view on it today.  It then becomes their war de jure as well as de facto, which it already is.

Of course, it's always been our war, but that's the nature of the game. 

But they're dealing with the situation that grew from the seeds planted by Rumsfeld, and accepted by Bush.  That's simply truth.  History may vindicate Rumsfeld and Bush on how they handled things.  Only time will tell, and the best assessments will probably be made after I'm long gone - just as we continually reassess WWII in light of new information coming out of the classified archives.]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/03/winning_the_war_1.html#comment-86372 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/03/winning_the_war_1.html#comment-86372 Fri, 27 Mar 2009 08:46:28 -0600 ]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/03/winning_the_war_1.html#comment-86368 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/03/winning_the_war_1.html#comment-86368 Fri, 27 Mar 2009 08:27:44 -0600
I think the Afghan thing was less about  troops and far more about focus, interest and effort shifting to Iraq.
]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/03/winning_the_war_1.html#comment-86356 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/03/winning_the_war_1.html#comment-86356 Fri, 27 Mar 2009 00:23:03 -0600
Well, What do expect from an old Vet? New A'stan or Iraqi war vets, help us to understand.

V/R Grumpy]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/03/winning_the_war_1.html#comment-86334 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/03/winning_the_war_1.html#comment-86334 Thu, 26 Mar 2009 14:31:23 -0600