Intelligent Military Tactic?
 

Are you guys keeping track of the offensive in Afghanistan?

Apparently it's rather brutal with heavy fighting. The marines and afghan soldiers encountered lots of bombs, booby traps and mines and fierce gun battles...

Well here is the part that gets me: It was announced a few weeks ahead of time that there would be an offensive. They wanted the Taliban to think it over and hopefully just leave.

What it did was give them a heads up and a week or so worth of time for the Taliban to dig in and set traps..

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,585888,00.html

Re: Intelligent Military Tactic?
 

Sounds like a dumb move to me. Unless there's something else going on we don't know about.

Re: Intelligent Military Tactic?
 

I noticed that as well. Couldn't believe it ... but then, this administration is all about being "fair," so they wanted to make sure the Taliban had an opportunity to leave or defend themselves.

Whomever designed this strategy needs to be gone. They should either be fired or placed on the front line.

Re: Intelligent Military Tactic?
 

We have to play fair now, if we are going to be blowing up things and killing bad people we need to warn them!! Right?

As usual the US makes war with one hand tied behind, which lengthens the war and ultimately a lot more solders are killed. The left has brainwashed a whole generation.

The US is too powerful we have to dumb down the strategy so we are good sports!

Good grief, if it is worth going to war, it is worth making a quick work of it. Oh, if it were so simple!! Of course, it is not.

Re: Intelligent Military Tactic?
 

Something else that I find absurd is the "law" that says if other countries think you responded too harshly to a first attack, you should be condemned...

Ok now THINK...in a war where an enemy is trying to kill you and your country men is the best tactic

A) just kill as many as he kills
B)As the UN how many bombs to drop before hand or
C)make sure the enemy never kills any more of your country men again

C makes the best sense to me

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Our young men and women are going into rough unknown terrain trying to fight an unseen enemy who has the favor of the local population (or at least has the local population afraid of them) and who is familiar with the land. We told them we were coming. We told them how long we'd be there. What chance to we have?

One solution would be to carpet bomb and cluster bomb the whole area until it looked like a newly plowed field but many would just hide in caves and holes and come back out after we pull out to continue doing what they've been doing for years. About the only way we can win this is to kill so many Taliban that there are not enough of them left to be effective. But then when the surviving children grow up they will just carry on what the adults are doing now.

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carpet, cluster bombing won't work. This is village pretty much with a lot of civilians

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Whatever happened to "shock and awe?"

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Replaced by juke and jive?

Re: Intelligent Military Tactic?
 

This is quite simply unbelievable ... US soldiers are complaining about the new rules of engagement which were updated last year because of "public outrage over civilian deaths" in Afghanistan. Talking about unnecessarily putting our soldiers lives in danger.

Are you kidding me!? If someone shoots at me, you better believe I'm shooting back asap. I'm not going to sit there trying to figure out the questions listed above.

Any current/former military who served in the middle east here?

Source

Re: Intelligent Military Tactic?
 

I'm former military (U.S. Army, 19K and 19B10). I'm torn because I see the philosophy of being "moral" in war as a just nation. However... the military's job is to kill people and break things. Personally, I think if we deploy our forces the only way to assure absolute victory is to completely unleash them to do what is necessary to get the job done (short of rape). Sadly, it sounds brutal. But it would end the war faster and perhaps save more lives when all is said and done.

I guess that's the horror and hell of war.

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Sun Tzu is laughing in his grave. I am ex military too and have the same conflict in philosophy but also the best tactic is to drop the sky on them without warning.

Nothing personal, but I don't believe in honor and fairness in war. No holds barred death and destruction on a scale that either wipes them from the earth or so completely annihilates them that they are rendered impotent.

And all that is very sad. War is hell and horror indeed, and it is worse when it just lingers on and on. The tragedy isn't dead talibani's or even so much dead americans, but dead children and families who don't really care who wins, they just want to live.

And telling the bad guys what our intentions are just helps to prolong the agony.

Re: Intelligent Military Tactic?
 

As you can see, I usually don't post to a thread although I read most of them.

Afghanistan, in the current world political climate, is unwinnable. The ROE is written with the assumption that eventually these folks will be our friends so we must try to maintain as much of the "structure" as possible.

Afghanistan is not a sovereign nation as much as it is many "sovereign" states within a specified border. This border is not recognized or maintained by any Afghans.

Of course, their culture also determines how they interact with foreigners too. Generally speaking, they look at all Westerners in the same way - they know we have "stuff" and as long as we give them "stuff", they will cooperate.

Another not too popular point is that most of the "Afghan opposition" to the Taliban is not because they don't agree with the Taliban's rules or form of government. The opposition comes from not wanting to be "under" the Taliban. In the same way they don want to be "under" the rule of the neighboring tribe either.

The Taliban have and always will fight an "attack and retreat" type of war. And, when they retreat, it will eventually be into Pakistan.

Anyway, the fact that we give the Taliban a "heads-up" regarding our plans is the least of our worries in Afghanistan.

Whew, that's enough for a while!

Re: Intelligent Military Tactic?
 

Annoincing major military offensives before they happen is NOT a new concept.

Actually, I think it's kind of smart.


I would tell why I think this way, but I honestly don't think it's wise to put my reasoning over the internet.


Let me just say that telling the enemy we're coming has very, very little to do with morality.

Afghanistan is already a "just war." We're morally right, with or without warning.

Re: Intelligent Military Tactic?
 

Maybe you can write the family of the next soldier who dies from a booby trap planted after we broadcasted the future offensive, which gave them time to set booby-traps up ... you could explain then why it was smart to let the enemy set a trap that killed their son.

It's stupid, regardless of who's in charge. I don't remember there being any past offensive where we've set a date and said, okay we're going to attack then.

Re: Intelligent Military Tactic?
 

fact is this is war, the obama way, i wonder if they have to mirandize the tals before they smoke em, i wouldnt, the marines have the new assault breacher vehicles to plow up the mine fields they are cool, dt

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hey chris i agree with you, cool bro, dt

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Agreed.

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Did we really warn the enemy... or did the enemy get a "head's up" in our effort to warn civilians? Just courious.

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if i was a civilian i would get out of there, no joke

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I heard that at some point in the offensive they were fighting house to house in a sandstorm. wow

I'd like to ask that anyone reading this thread stop at this post and say a short prayer for our brave men and women fighting right now.

Re: Intelligent Military Tactic?
 

Anyone who could get US news or the internet could've read the information. The region, city, timeframe ... it was all available.

Ridiculous.

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That is not a military tactic. That is political. No wars are won by allowing the person that was trying to kill you, escape intentionally because they ditched their weapons

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Tell the civi's to leave, that we can't be responsible for their injury and if they stay they can probably expect the worse, level the city, bring in the CBs and make them a better house.

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Most of the major offensives in Iraq were announced way before we did them.

Heck, we began that war that way!

Sadr City-- they were warned.

The troop build up-- they were wanred.


There were other offensives-- even small ones that did not make the news. Our Psyops would let folks know we were coming before we came. Our Psyops would knowingly let everyone know.


It is a military as well as a political tactic. It does work.


Just like Iraq, Afganistan will not be won by guns and fire power alone.


As a former military man with 2 relatively recent combat tours (Afghanistan and Iraq) I stand by the practice of informing the general populous before major offensives.



At first I didn't agree with it, but I've lived it and see the results of this multi-pronged strategy. It is very, very wise.

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Did the enemy run and hide in caves until the storm passes by? Seems that some of them are fighting, at least hit and run.

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I'm sure I don't understand it, but I will listen when someone that has been there speaks.
Thanks for your service, bro.