Special Forces May Train Assassins In Iraq

[Gem]

There is that possibility, but understand the past mistake we made wasn't training the Mujahadeen to fight the Soviets. It was the right thing to do.

The past mistake was leaving the Mujahadeen to their own devices after the fact. That is the lesson to be learned: to not detach ourselves prematurely from a situation of our own creation, because of loss of interest or distraction, and assume we won't need to worry about it any longer.

If we are going to create these squads we must remain involved with them, in some fashion, for as long as they exist.

Zhukov,

ABSOLUTELY! I was in no way stating that we should NOT act in someway, nor was I saying that a non-violent approach would work in the situation we are presently in (anyone who has read any of my other threads on this subject knows that I favor strong decisive actions over trying to "negotiate" with terrorists and violent "cleric leaders").

My point was only that we do have a history of backing people who are at the time, or who end up being brutal, sadistic dickheads who cause us much more trouble than (arguably) they were worth in the first place (and I'm thinking all over the world, not just the Middle East), and that perhaps we should examine our methods and make changes.

I think that you have certainly hit the nail on the head to some extent. Perhaps the issue is NOT the fact that we train people to fight with us/for us...but rather what we do with them AFTER they have "served their purpose." Do we cause resentment and eventually hatred by abandoning them to their own devices, possibly breaking promises for aid and/or support after the fact? And how could the mistakes of the past be avoided in the future by making sure that we don't simply abandon these fighters?

Excellent post, thanks for it!

 

[FollowerOfKeeb]

gotta deal with the insurgency one way or another...

Hell yeah! Assasins! Got to have some way to deal with the problem of the Iraqi people choosing a leader we don't like.