We are still at war, right?  If you look at the new Rules of Engagement being put out by the Obama Administration to the troops in Afghanistan and the SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) for those in Iraq, you would think America WANTS to lose these wars.  According to recent reports the following ROEs are being implemented by soldiers in Afghanistan:

- No more night or surprise searches

- Villagers are to be warned prior to searches

- Afghan National Army or Afghan National Police must accompany U.S. Forces on searches

- U.S. Forces may not fire at insurgents unless they are preparing to fire first

- U.S. Forces cannot engage insurgents if civilians are present

- Only women can search women

- U.S. Forces can fire on insurgents if they catch them placing an IED but not if insurgents walk away from where the explosives are

These are just some of the changes made in how our troops are fighting the war in Afghanistan.  I hate to say it, but if we continue down this path we will not win in Afghanistan.  Here’s why…

1) Conventional forces are meant to fight conventional forces.  It is very difficult, almost impossible for conventional (tanks, divisions, etc.) forces to defeat Unconventional (guerilla forces & insurgents) forces.  During WWII and Korea we had a clearly defined conventional enemy.  Starting with Vietnam we began to see a shift from large pitched battles between two well entrenched forces.  During the Vietnam war small bands of well armed, poorly trained fighters began hit-and-run or ambush attacks against larger, better trained forces with measurable success.  The same thing happened to the Russians in Afghanistan, and we know how that turned out.

2) Conventional American forces are trained with doctrine.  For example, how to handle an ambush or how to conduct a cordon and search.  We were very successful in Iraq because we began that war against the Iraqi army and the Republican Guard, two conventional military forces.  We ran into trouble when small well armed, poorly trained fighters began attacking our convoys with IEDs or our compounds with homicide bombers.  We didn’t know what to do when civilians were captured and murdered on TV.  Thankfully, with the increase in specialized military units, we have seen that area of operation seemingly come under a loose peace.

2a) However, in Afghanistan we saw the beginning of the conflict there very successful because it was a “Special Forces” war.  We went in and fought the enemy on their ground but by our terms.  Now that we have shifted to a more conventional force (and mindset) there we see the rise of more insurgent activity to the point of brazen pitched battles against our outposts.  We have become the new Russian invaders and if we keep this course, we will not win.

Afghanistan can only be won by small units, highly trained and heavily armed.  They need local interpreters and the support of the village elders.  We need to show them that freedom and liberty are their future, not more military control (Russians) or religious oppression (Taliban).  We need to work to root out the corruption in their government and keep the democratic process open and transparent.  But first and foremost we must take on the role of fighting for the people, on their behalf, instead of against the people.  They must stand on their feet and take charge of their country in order to foster a free and open society.

We can’t do it with M1 Tanks, but it can be done.

– The Patriot