Some Follow up...

Afghan National Army (ANA) troops gather around their trophies, two dead Taliban.

17 July 2008.

The grim part of the mission in Afghanistan. Killing the enemy. If they won't quit, we must kill them. Yet this is only a small part of the job over here. Apart from all the humanitarian work that is absolutely the most important mission, there is training this fledging army. While their individual courage should never be doubted, it takes time to mold that into a cohesive, disciplined fighting force. They want to take over the fight and do more...that's good for us. The people best suited for defeating the Taliban are the Afghans. They speak the language, they know the customs and the land.

Now for the follow up. On 13 July, nine American soldiers were killed in an attack by the Taliban near the Kunar/Nuristan border in the eastern part of Afghanistan near the Pakistani border. We know that the enemy suffered very heavy casualties. The press called the attack, "an attack on an American base." Well, it wasn't a base at all. There is some confusion as to what was actually in place, but early indicators are that there were some leadership failures.

In otherwords, the casualties we took possibly could have been avoided. The Army is still investigating, but everything from the piece of ground chosen, to lack of wire and overhead cover points to someone not doing their job, maybe several someones. Was it incompetence, complacency, or inexperience? Perhaps all three. With three days to prepare, there should have been better defenses, but the details have not yet been released. Those outside the military may not know this, but the Army carefully examines each engagement (regardless of outcome). That is how we learn and hopefully prevent future blunders, or replicate past successes. I'll be looking for the report.

"You’ve got to kill people. And when you’ve killed enough, they stop fighting."

General Curtis LeMay