geauxtohell
Choose your weapon.
Oh they know WHY the ROE is in place GTH. They understand that very well. And they all repeat the same stuff you've been saying.
The thing is, you seem to approve of the way you were asked to fight this conflict. Most of them don't. They follow orders. They respect their superiors. They do what they are told to do. But they know it could be different.
I'd expect nothing less from professional soldiers. It could always be better, and no soldier gets everything they want. We most likely could have won Viet Nam if we would have nuked Hanoi. However, the second order effects of it and possible initiation of World War III made it completely impractical.
Most of them have also had tours in Iraq and would very much like to be able to see the same kinds of success in Afghanistan.
Again, that problem is economic in nature, and not military. Afghanistan doesn't have a GNP to support the government we've set up. Iraq does.
So again, if we can't make another 'Iraq' out of Afghanistan, what do we hope to accomplish? If there is no infrastructure to build, no economy to restore, and things seems to be getting much worse rather than better militarily, isn't it time to rethink what we're doing and how we are doing it?
The only alternative is to leave right now. That's not a good alternative. The problems we have in Afghanistan are, at large, a result of dividing our efforts and attention with Iraq. Why we decided to go half ass in a conflict in a nation known as the "Graveyard of Super Powers" is something I'll never know.
I sure gave the Bush administration hell for fighting a too wimpy war in Iraq for too long even as I supported the concept of a free and independent Iraq that would be an shining example for the folks in the Middle East. I thought there too overwhelming force should be used, inflict maximum pain quick and absolute, defeat the enemy totally, and then rebuild it as we and the Allies did in Germany, Italy, Japan et al.
We did that in the early days of the war to defeat the conventional Iraqi Army. That was not an option with the insurgency. Again, you can't look at modern warfare in the same light as World War II. It's much different.
Can that be accomplished in Afghanistan? If not, then what can be accomplished. And what price is worth it?
I don't know. We've lost our momentum and the perception of the people is turning against us. We are in a hell of a mess. I was of the opinion that our shelf life in Afghanistan had expired in March of '05.