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October 20, 2010
Our Awesome and Frustrated American Troops :“They ( Obama) Won’t Let us Fight – War is War and This is No War, I Don’t Know What This is"
KAJAKI, AFGHANISTAN – Lyrics from a Misfits song, “Mommy, Can I Go Out And Kill Tonight?” decorate the helmet of Marine Cpl. Jonathan Eckert of Oak Lawn, IL attached to India Battery, 3rd Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment while on patrol near Forward Operating Base (FOB) Zeebrugge on October 15, 2010 in Kajaki, Afghanistan. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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KAJAKI, AFGHANISTAN – U.S. Marine Cpl William Simpson of York Beach, ME with the Police Advisory Team attached to India Battery, 3rd Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment fire n an enemy position during a firefight near Forward Operating Base (FOB) Zeebrugge on October 11, 2010 in Kajaki, Afghanistan. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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Troops chafe at restrictive rules of engagement, talks with Taliban
Afghanistan: American Troop Morale Plummets as ROE Continue to Tighten, “They Won’t Let us Fight – War is War and This is No War, I Don’t Know What This is
KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN
To the U.S. Army soldiers and Marines serving here, some things seem so obviously true that they are beyond debate. Among those perceived truths: The restrictive rules of engagement that they have to fight under have made serving in combat far more dangerous for them, while allowing the Taliban to return to a position of strength.
“If they use rockets to hit the [forward operating base] we can’t shoot back because they were within 500 meters of the village. If they shoot at us and drop their weapon in the process we can’t shoot back,” said Spc. Charles Brooks, 26, a U.S. Army medic with 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, in Zabul province.
Word had come down the morning Brooks spoke to this reporter that watch towers surrounding the base were going to be dismantled because Afghan village elders, some sympathetic to the Taliban, complained they were invading their village privacy. “We have to take down our towers because it offends them and now the Taliban can set up mortars and we can’t see them,” Brooks added, with disgust.
In June, Gen. David Petraeus, who took command here after the self-inflicted demise of Gen. Stanley McChrystal, told Congress that he was weighing a major change with rules for engaging enemy fighters in Afghanistan. That has not yet happened, troops say. Soldiers and Marines continue to be held back by what they believe to be strict rules imposed by the government of President Hamid Karzai designed with one objective: limit Afghan civilian casualties.
“I don’t think the military leaders, president or anybody really cares about what we’re going through,” said Spc. Matthew “Silver” Fuhrken, 25, from Watertown, N.Y. “I’m sick of people trying to cover up what’s really going on over here. They won’t let us do our job. I don’t care if they try to kick me out for what I’m saying — war is war and this is no war. I don’t know what this is.”
To the soldiers and Marines risking their lives in Afghanistan, restrictions on their ability to aggressively attack the Taliban have led to another enormous frustration stalking morale: the fear that the Karzai government, with the prodding of the administration of President Obama, will negotiate a peace with the Taliban that wastes all the sacrifices by the U.S. here.
Those fears intensified when news reached the enlisted ranks that the Karzai government, with the backing of senior Obama officials, was entering a new round of negotiations with the Taliban.
“If we walk away, cut a deal with the Taliban, desert the people who needed us most, then this war was pointless,” said Pvt. Jeffrey Ward, with 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, who is stationed at Forward Operating Base Bullard in southern Afghanistan.
"Everyone dies for their own reasons but it's sad to think that our friends, the troops, have given their lives for something we're not going to see through."
Other soldiers agreed. They said they feared few officials in the Pentagon understand the reality on the ground.
From the front lines, the U.S. backing of the Karzai government, widely seen as riddled with corruption by the Afghans living in local villages, has given the Taliban a position of power in villages while undercutting U.S. moral authority.
Corrupt government officials have made "it impossible for us to trust anyone," said elder Sha Barar, from the village of Sha Joy. The people of that village and many others profess fear of the Taliban, and recount tales of brutality and wanton killings by the Taliban and their sympathizers. But they don't see the Karzai government as a positive force in their lives.
Karzai said that talks need to continue with the Taliban "at a fixed address and with a more open agenda to tell us how to bring peace to Afghanistan and Pakistan."
But U.S. troops and Marines interviewed during the past month in Afghanistan question what negotiations would really mean, to both them and the Afghan people. And they almost universally believe that negotiating would be a mistake before achieving decisive gains they believe are attainable once oppressive rules of engagement are relaxed.
"What does it mean if we give in to the Taliban? They are the enemy," Brooks said. "This place is going to be a safe haven for terrorists again. The government doesn't care about the sacrifices already made. As far as the mission goes, I want to see these kids go to school and have a future but not at the expense of my friends -- not anymore."
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Wild Thing's comment........
DAMN Obama striaght to hell!!!
More and more of our guys are going to die over these senseless ROE's.
All politicians who aid and abet these rules, and who support talks with the taliban, deserve to be run out of office.
The taliban wants nothing out of these talks except time. Time to regroup, resupply, and refit. How can our dumb leaders not see this???
Barak Hussaine Obama should be tried for treason....absolutel TREASON by Obama.
And to think that he is preventing our soldiers from voting is enough to make my eyes bleed.
Posted by Wild Thing at October 20, 2010 03:50 AM
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They are obama's rules of engagement. And our troops are in harms way and are virtually defenseless.
I read/heard somewhere, they have a new Rocket launcher that is dead-nuts accurate, they can't use it because it is "Too Accurate".
This is not a War of attrition, nor a War to win for America, it is a War against America and obama is its leader. He is sacrificing our troops for nothing but his communist agenda.
Posted by: Mark at October 20, 2010 07:57 AM
Strict rules of engagement tell our enemy that we have an exploitable weakness. They use to their advantage and we have more casualties as a result. The only time since WWII that our military has been turned loose was in Gulf War One. There we won a decisive victory in a few days, although even then PC kept our forces from finishing the fine job they had accomplished.
The ROE for the Taliban and al-Quada is kill Americans and win. They don't give a damn about hearts and minds or civilian casualties.
Posted by: TomR, armed in Texas at October 20, 2010 10:00 AM
This is so wrong.
We are at war, this is not some "police action". The men on the front lines are fighting for their lives, and the politicans on the Left are doing all they can to put them in further danger.
It has just come out that Sen Boxer, Reps Grihalva and Waxman, among others, authorized funding to the Code Pink crowd. They then gave the money to our enemies in Iraq and Afghanistan, for the express purpose of asassinating American soldiers.
It has been a long time since anyone in this Country has been tried for treason, but this Administration and the above mentioned members of Congress, certainly deserve some serious consideration.
Posted by: Sean at October 20, 2010 11:06 AM
I thought the idea of war was to be so violent, so brutal, so destructive that the enemy knows it's useless to continue the fight -- a total projection of power aimed at destroying and demoralizing the enemy. When we back away from this idea it only emboldens our enemy. War is not a game, there are lives at stake and the only way to reduce the loss of life is to enter into a war with the intent to win swiftly. That is why war is called the "last resort" or the "final recourse of diplomacy." We're fighting this thing to win, to punish and to establish the idea that you best not mess with the USA. Obviously our "leadership" has not learned the lessons of Vietnam: diplomacy hasn't worked...time to kick ass and force our enemy to comply.
Posted by: petesuj at October 20, 2010 11:08 AM
I'm too PO'd about Osama Obama to even make a comment. Thanks for your comments and thanks WT for the post.
Posted by: Bob A at October 20, 2010 02:05 PM
Mark, well said....."it is a War against America and obama is its leader. He is sacrificing our troops for nothing but his communist agenda."
Posted by: Wild Thing at October 20, 2010 11:25 PM
Tom, good point.
"Strict rules of engagement tell our enemy that we have an exploitable weakness."
Posted by: Wild Thing at October 20, 2010 11:29 PM
Sean, ditto all you said.
I remember when Code Pink gave that check to the terrorists. It was right after I started my blog. I was so furious.
Thanks for mentioning the latest too that is happening with Boxer,Grihalva and Waxman, among others.
Posted by: Wild Thing at October 20, 2010 11:32 PM
Pete, exactly. Well put Pete.
Posted by: Wild Thing at October 20, 2010 11:33 PM
Bob A., I know what you mean. It is hard to even post about it without my hands shaking from anger.
Good to see you BobA.
Posted by: Wild Thing at October 20, 2010 11:36 PM
