I'm still not back in peak form for this sort of thing, but I just can't leave my poor blog to languish for too long if I can physically access it and have time to do so. Those two criteria being met, just a short post about Afghanistan and stuff.
With the recent jailbreak in Kandahar and the short-lived Taliban "take-over" of the Argandab there is a lot of focus on the place again. Things seem to be going largely our way for the moment (no NATO and few ANA casualties vs several dozen bad guys) but my view of the big picture, long term, what-have-you has not changed.
Pakistan (source of many of the recent Taliban casualties, apparently) is still a basket case as an "ally" and could get worse with very little warning. This is the dreaded sanctuary with which any insurgency is unbeatable. Add in external interference from meddlesome third parties (e.g. Iran) and the ambivalence of the Pashtun population of Afghanistan, and I really don't see a lot of hope for the place.
Don't hold me to this, as my mind may change later, but at this time after doing a tour there I have no interest in doing so again. There are many ways to die and or be maimed for life, but having rolled the dice once on a hopeless cause I feel no urgency to do so again.
I am, as much as I am of anything in particular, of the realist school of foreign relations. We kicked the Taliban's ass in 2001-2002, and at any other time they've been stupid enough to stand and fight us. This can continue indefinitely and what is the net gain to Canada's security? We're well past the point of diminishing returns and run the risk of ruining our Army in the process if we continue for too long.
As an institution we have learned everything useful that we can from our time in Afghanistan. Some may dispute that, but we have re-established the supremacy of firepower (artillery and close-air as well as direct fire from tanks), the necessity for armour, shown the fallacy that wheeled vehicles can do anything that tracks can, and by our lack of it, the need for battlefield helicopters for mobility in an IED environment.
We have re-learned a lot of things that we shouldn't have forgotten, like that the original purpose of a tank was to help Infantry overcome strong points, NOT to fight other tanks, and (although I'm not so sure this one is really absorbed) that the maximum load an average soldier can carry and fight with all day is about 60lbs.
I saw a good article today about all of our high-tech stuff and the reality of wearing it on operations, so all is not lost, but I think we need another enforced break from international adventures so that we can rebuild the army, both in hardware and personnel. Apply our lessons learned, but not lose sight of fighting a conventional war or keep the pesky Danes and Russians from poaching our Arctic territory.
I'm out of sorts so I'm not as gung-ho as I could be, but I've lost what little motivation I ever had to get myself killed (or worse) over Afghanistan. I don't seek to dissuade others from doing their job, and anyone who could be/has been in the line of fire can disagree with me and I won't argue against you. Anyone who is NOT willing to put their ass on the line at all has no basis whatsoever to give me any opinion on my position and I will ignore yours accordingly.
There are lots of things I am still prepared to do in service of my country, but I'll feel more up to it when I can see the correlation between my risk and the security of my family. Not the official line by a long shot, but as always only my opinion, although I'm sure I'm not alone.
No comments:
Post a Comment