Canada has been fighting in Afghanistan along with the US and other NATO countries. To date, it has been unable to secure a decisive victory against the Taliban, based out of Pakistan.
Non-conventional forces have certainly found that it is inadvisable to confront conventional forces, especially powerful conventional forces like the US, head-on. So they resort to effective hit-and-run guerilla (now called "terrorist") tactics. The terrorists adopt the motto of the popular TV show: "Outwit, Outplay, Outlast". Outlast also means Out Last -- they'll hang in there till the bitter end.
What NATO is experiencing in Afghanistan and Iraq appears to be no different than what the Americans experienced during the Vietnam War in the 60's and 70's. The difference is that the Viet Cong was supported by the conventional army (the famous NVA or North Vietnamese Army) and the established government of North Vietnam.
NVA's General Giap probably put it best when in his book, Victory At Any Cost, (a very telling book title indeed!), he wrote that the Vietnamese were prepared to pay whatever cost they had to pay to defeat the French and Americans. They realized that against a powerful conventional force like the US, they would incur substantial losses but they were wholly committed to the Cause and prepared to pay the Cost.
The suicide bombers of Iraq certainly show the level of commitment of the Iraqi terrorists to their cause.
In many of these cases, the conventional forces are foreign troops, not indigenous to the region; therefore, their familiarity with the environment and love of that country is quite low. The terrorists exploit this disadvantage by strategizing to outlast the competition. They don't necessarily have to be the best or even good -- they just have to be the last one on the battlefield.
However, all military and paramilitary forces must be supported by adequate logistics. In this case, someone is feeding the Taliban and the Iraqi terrorists with food, weapons, money, hiding places etc. To win, the conventional forces have to cut off this logistical supply. And they may have to cheat to do so. They may have to undertake 'guerrilla' style tactics to hit the terrorists at home. Just as the terrorist bombs put fear into the hearts of conventional forces because they explode unexpectedly and seemingly almost anywhere, the conventional forces must make the terrorists fear their own home environment as well. Infiltrate their camps and explode bombs, poison troops etc.
This logistical battle would probably have to be long-term. The only force realistically capable of outlasting the terrorists are military forces of the indigenous populations. Unless there is that support and motivation from the local populations to defeat the terrorists, there really is very little chance of the conventional forces ever defeating the terrorists.
ColinNon-conventional forces have certainly found that it is inadvisable to confront conventional forces, especially powerful conventional forces like the US, head-on. So they resort to effective hit-and-run guerilla (now called "terrorist") tactics. The terrorists adopt the motto of the popular TV show: "Outwit, Outplay, Outlast". Outlast also means Out Last -- they'll hang in there till the bitter end.
What NATO is experiencing in Afghanistan and Iraq appears to be no different than what the Americans experienced during the Vietnam War in the 60's and 70's. The difference is that the Viet Cong was supported by the conventional army (the famous NVA or North Vietnamese Army) and the established government of North Vietnam.
NVA's General Giap probably put it best when in his book, Victory At Any Cost, (a very telling book title indeed!), he wrote that the Vietnamese were prepared to pay whatever cost they had to pay to defeat the French and Americans. They realized that against a powerful conventional force like the US, they would incur substantial losses but they were wholly committed to the Cause and prepared to pay the Cost.The suicide bombers of Iraq certainly show the level of commitment of the Iraqi terrorists to their cause.
In many of these cases, the conventional forces are foreign troops, not indigenous to the region; therefore, their familiarity with the environment and love of that country is quite low. The terrorists exploit this disadvantage by strategizing to outlast the competition. They don't necessarily have to be the best or even good -- they just have to be the last one on the battlefield.
However, all military and paramilitary forces must be supported by adequate logistics. In this case, someone is feeding the Taliban and the Iraqi terrorists with food, weapons, money, hiding places etc. To win, the conventional forces have to cut off this logistical supply. And they may have to cheat to do so. They may have to undertake 'guerrilla' style tactics to hit the terrorists at home. Just as the terrorist bombs put fear into the hearts of conventional forces because they explode unexpectedly and seemingly almost anywhere, the conventional forces must make the terrorists fear their own home environment as well. Infiltrate their camps and explode bombs, poison troops etc.
This logistical battle would probably have to be long-term. The only force realistically capable of outlasting the terrorists are military forces of the indigenous populations. Unless there is that support and motivation from the local populations to defeat the terrorists, there really is very little chance of the conventional forces ever defeating the terrorists.
