Tough Month in Afghanistan

All I can say is that I sure as hell hope that General Petraeus can turn this thing around over in Afghanistan. As far as I can tell, there's no reason to suspect otherwise. The man turned Iraq into a victory, and seems to have better credentials than his predecessor. After all, as it turns out, General McChrystal was a left winger who wouldn't even allow Fox News to be played in the wire. No wonder we haven't been making enough headway over there; liberals never fight to win!

But I digress. According to the AP, 23 US Servicemembers have died so far this month. That's a tough month. That's a number that doesn't even include the numerous Packistanis who have been killed by taliban fighters, and international troops, including Brits and Germans, who have experienced numerous attacks on their convoys.

Yet something is wrong here. We continue to refuse to fight a total war. After conducting operations this month, in which eight taliban fighters were taken into custody, over one thousand "civilians" protested chanting "Death to America, long live Islam!" What am I missing here? As the left continues to bend over backward to prove that America is not anti-Islam, (a policy I haven't quite figured out yet) Islam continues to openly denounce the United States.

The taliban has many dedicated radicals who are willing to fight to the death. Yet the seemingly never ending amount of IEDS, and suicide bombs put in motercycles and cars prove that they are getting constant help. The only way they are able to continue fighting as they do, is that they are being consistently harbored, lied for, and protected.

In short, there are very few innocents over there.

Do I advocate the killing of women and children? Of course not. Do I advocate striving for victory in a fierce, drawn out war, even if it means more women and children dying? Of course. This country has made a mistake of too firmly claiming that we are not at war with Afghanistan, but only a small radical sect. Is this sect very small, and how "radical" is it compared to the rest of Islam? As for the second question, I do not know for sure. Yet it is obvious that the force which we are up against is not small at all. The majority may not be up in the hills with AKs, but that doesn't mean they aren't part of the war effort.

I do not for a moment suggest that it is an easy thing to do for a family in Afghanistan to put themselves on the line, and take a stand against these insurgents. I will suggest however, that they need to do the right thing.

I'm all for hearts and minds, but let's get real; many times what that means is two rounds in the heart and one round in the mind. A reluctant enemy is still an enemy.