American Thinker, John Bernard 16 May 2012
The
battlefield is as fluid as diplomatic efforts to shape the outcome are
convoluted. While diplomacy during
peacetime can be described as the efforts between two national representatives
to overcome obstacles to a good, healthy and mutually productive relationship,
diplomacy during hostilities cannot. “Diplomatic
efforts” during an ongoing conflict are at best an oxymoron. The failure of two parties to work out
problems with one another is what leads to war and if war is the ultimate
outcome of a failure of diplomacy then it stands to reason that the successful outcome
of the war can only be defined when one warring nation capitulates to the
battle field prowess of the other.
Our
current struggles in Afghanistan have been defined and redefined so many times
that it is little wonder that civilian support for the effort here in the
United States has waned. What is truly
amazing is that the level of morale in the ranks of our War Fighting community
has remained as high as it has. High
morale is not however an accurate indicator of how our military views our
successes on this battlefield especially at this point in history. The reason it does not is because this is one
of the only times in our history when a draft has not been used to maintain
numbers in the ranks. Those who have
served both in Iraq and Afghanistan have done so willingly and their overall
perception of time served is generally more positive than that of conscripts.
Americans
have grown accustomed to hearing reports emanating from government officials
that do not line up with reports coming in from the battlefield through media outlets
and from other sources with boots on the ground. Every piece of information delivered to the
American public flows through a government filter to insure consistency with
the narrative. In addition the
administration’s proxy, the Pentagon has decided that elements of certain kinds
of information should be sequestered to insure the state
narrative continues untarnished by pesky details.
Even
the lexicon has morphed to reflect the changing opinions of the current
“visionary”. While success on the
battlefield has historically been defined as victory, even the word battlefield
has been carefully expunged from the public dialogue. Success has been coopted by “compromise” and
victory remanded to the dustbin of unacceptable words and phrases. Enemy
Prisoners of War (EPW) are now future leaders in the new coalition government
envisioned by the luminaries in DC. General Grade Officers have been carefully
selected for their willingness to capture the vision and then translate it into
conduct on the battlefield that reflects the intent of their Commander in
Chief.
The
American population has been exposed to military jargon they don’t understand,
historically incorrect details about Afghan society and Islam and have been
force-fed these carefully manicured stories of successful encounters with
Afghan society for at least eight years. I say eight years because it took time for the
government to begin to transit from high tempo combat to a low kinetic,
COIN-centric operational philosophy. This
slow slide into the insane world of peace keeping operations took time. The move to COIN fantasy began to take root at
precisely the same rate as our moral outrage and desire for retribution for the
acts perpetrated against us on September 11, 2001 began to fade. One of the
great problems with COIN operations is that it’s historical success rate is
abysmal. In fact there has only ever
been one successful attempt and
Afghanistan isn’t it. And just to keep the
record straight, Iraq wasn’t it either!
If
things are going so very well for us in Afghanistan right now, then reporting
should reflect that but there are very few stories to corroborate what we are
being told. In the past two weeks alone,
we have seen more evidence of the growing trend of Afghan Nationals turning their weapons on
American, and
NATO/ISAF forces. Even as stories like these continue to roll
in, we have had further confirmation of an ongoing effort by US representatives
to reconcile with the incalcitrant Taliban and to release battle hardened
Taliban fighters back to Afghan society. While we
have chosen to abandon the battlefield in a quest for a magic potion to make
the Taliban like us, they, are doing their level best to
‘explain’ to us that they have no interest in peace, an example
of which is the killing an Afghan “peace negotiator”. They are also exploiting our weakness on the
battlefield due to our apparent unwillingness to bring the fight to them!
Of
course many questions are raised by all of this but none as important as the
one; why did we ever let this government convince us that rebuilding
Afghanistan was somehow better for the United States? This question is important simply because
there are those of us who are serving in that part of the world who have been led
to believe they are there for the security of the United States. Regardless of the apparent inanity of the
mission, the overwhelming evidence of IED placement, VBIED traffic, the obvious
lack of measurable support from the local population and the incessant stories
of moral and ethical failure in the Kabul government, these War Fighters press
on. The government that has compelled
them to serve in a hostile environment owes them at least the ability to defend
themselves when fired upon. The ROE however
denies them use of the basic tools of the trade; artillery, close air support,
use of organic weapons systems like the 60mm mortar and even small arms fire if
their proximity to civilians cannot absolutely guarantee safety for the
civilians.
As
the ‘combat’ mission begins to morph into one of training and support, logic
would dictate that under normal conditions the environment will become more
dangerous for our War Fighting community. But the conditions in Afghanistan are hardly
normal and no matter how much the General Grade Officers and their counterparts
in DC want Afghanistan and Afghans to reflect their vision for them, it isn't
going to happen. One thing is certain, as
the number of service members in Afghanistan is drawn down, the real threat to
our War Fighter community will grow – exponentially. The ROE will grow incredibly tighter for that
is another expectation within the COIN paradigm; as the operation ages, so
grows the support from the civilian population decreasing the need for armed
force.
Does
anyone want to bargain their lives or those of their loved ones on that premise,
in this part of the world? Maybe the
President or our silent Congressional representatives should stand in the gap
and give our War Fighters a break.
The
truth is, in spite of the narrative, the actual evidence suggests things in
Afghanistan are turning in favor of the Taliban. The danger to our forces will not only
continue but will grow in intensity as more, and more control of the battle
space is handed to the Taliban. And this
giving over of control is a direct consequence of our having chosen not to hold
the Taliban accountable on the battle field; a battle field created by a
failure on the part of Al Qaida, the Taliban and other like-minded Islamic
cells to choose peaceful co-existence with the rest of the world. It is also a complete failure of the remainder
of the so-called peaceful Muslim Ummah to denounce the violence perpetrated by
these groups.
Those
in the highest levels of governance in this country and appointed to highest
echelons of authority in the DOD have willingly rendered their consciences and
their minds incapable of considering the threat, the motivation for the threat,
the determination of this enemy and the proper response to the threat. Instead, they have done what too many men in
this age have done. They have been seduced by a lie that allows their weakened
character to take the less painful road rather than the road that would have
led to victory.
And
in so doing, they have purposefully deceived a nation and a nation’s most
valuable asset: it’s War Fighting community.
Semper Fidelis
John Bernard
