http://registan.net/index.php/2007/12/08/misunderstanding-the-turning-tide/ Central Asia News -- All Central Asia, All The Time Sun, 12 Feb 2012 23:53:13 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://registan.net/index.php/2007/12/08/misunderstanding-the-turning-tide/comment-page-1/#comment-376007 Pale Ale Sat, 08 Dec 2007 18:27:11 +0000 http://www.registan.net/index.php/2007/12/08/misunderstanding-the-turning-tide/#comment-376007 Nice piece. It may be more poignant to also point out that Afghanistan is becoming (or has become) more dangerous than Iraq in terms of suicide bombings, IEDs, and attacks on US troops. Until the US military sheds a few layers of its reliance on sheer force, firepower, and technology it won't be able to fully grasp or address the simple but very important aspect of cultural understanding. It is a slow slog through mud that the US military is going through (while kicking and screaming) to take on the necessary tools to "win" a counterinsurgency. I'm afraid the transition is too late and too slow, but nonetheless, worth the effort. Nice piece. It may be more poignant to also point out that Afghanistan is becoming (or has become) more dangerous than Iraq in terms of suicide bombings, IEDs, and attacks on US troops.
Until the US military sheds a few layers of its reliance on sheer force, firepower, and technology it won’t be able to fully grasp or address the simple but very important aspect of cultural understanding. It is a slow slog through mud that the US military is going through (while kicking and screaming) to take on the necessary tools to “win” a counterinsurgency. I’m afraid the transition is too late and too slow, but nonetheless, worth the effort.

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