US launches biggest Marine operation since Vietnam War!

[Double X]

BBC NEWS | South Asia | US opens 'major Afghan offensive'

The news is still somewhat fresh so we will have to see how this plays out.

This is where the majority of the taliban/al qaeda are holed up.



personally I don't think it will work too well, war on terror seems to be a foolish idea but this is nonetheless interesting.

[Gidig]

I'm so sick and done with war.

[Casey.]

It is interesting, but I really don't think this is going to work as well as they hope for it too.

[✖Ice✖]

We already beat them.

[Jamie]

I hope for the sake of lives on both sides of the conflict this isn't as disaterous as the involvement marines had in Vietnam.

[Stephanie]

Originally Posted by Jamie

I hope for the sake of lives on both sides of the conflict this isn't as disaterous as the involvement marines had in Vietnam.

My thoughts exactly.

[Double X]

Well I see it like the Taliban really only have two options

1. Fight and lose
2. Run to the mountains and do guerrilla warfare. However, they will lose a large amount of their funding because we will cut them off with from their opium trade. With the new soldiers coming from Iraq and more concentration of other troops in Afghanistan, they might be able to actually slow down the opium dealing.

[Jamie]

The problem with guerilla warfare- you just can't win against it, not very easily. As I mentioned earlier, the US lost the Vietnam war because it simply couldn't deal with the Vietnamese guerilla tactics and they had to retreat.

[Double X]

The Vietnamese had a way of making money though to support the guerrillas. If we have a lot troops focus in the particular region, I think it will be too hard to continue the opium trade in afghanistan. If they have no funds, they will have trouble even waging guerrilla warfare.

Its all a guess though, no real idea what's going to happen.

[Jamie]

Originally Posted by Double X

The Vietnamese had a way of making money though to support the guerrillas. If we have a lot troops focus in the particular region, I think it will be too hard to continue the opium trade in afghanistan. If they have no funds, they will have trouble even waging guerrilla warfare.

Its all a guess though, no real idea what's going to happen.

It wasn't as much money as support from Russia and China- which I daresay will happen again, except from Iran and the worldwide network of terrorist cells...I can't see them ever losing the resources to fight a guerrila war.

[Anthropomorphic]

Originally Posted by EDGE

We already beat them.

Um.... what?

We most certainly haven't beaten al-Quada. They're still quite strong and organized. I really have no idea where you got that idea from.

[✖Ice✖]

That's because al-Quada has had time to regroup for new attacks.

[BigBL87]

I really don't understand why the situation is constantly compared to Vietnam. The only real connection is the use of guerrilla warfare.

That aside, in Vietnam we never really had near the "success" that we have had in Afghanistan. The Taliban were deposed from the government completely, which is not something we could say of Vietnam. So no, Afghanistan will not turn into another Vietnam, because the situations are really completely different. If anything, it may turn into a repeat of past Afghanistan, where we support a government only to be alienated from them later, after we pull out. Or, perhaps it may end up like a number of African nations, with warring factions fighting in a civil war. In any event, I really don't think it is analogous to Vietnam.

Finally, as always, I always wonder exactly how accurate the reporting here is. A lot of military strategy is information and misinformation. This may be what they told the press, but the information could be partial truth while being a setup for a different strategy or operation. If the Taliban soldiers are expecting one thing, they may be completely caught off guard by another.

[Composure]

A smart move, despite what will be consequent casualties.