Lt. Col. Ralph Peters was on the O’Reilly Factor last Friday with guest host Laura Ingraham. They discussed the Afghanistan War, of course, and his thoughts about General David Petraeus heading the effort.
Peters called on General Petraeus to consider that his counter-insurgency strategy will not work in Afghanistan. He cited VP Joe Biden, yes that Biden, on his remarks on how we should fight the war in Afghanistan: Counter-terrorism. In a sense, attack and kill the enemy. Forget rebuilding society in Afghanistan, because there is nothing to rebuild in Afghanistan, compared to Iraq when we invaded a few years ago.
Peters makes a good point that the strategy General McChrystal implemented in Afghanistan is exactly the same strategy Petraeus used in Iraq. Peters said that this is proof enough that Petraeus’ Iraq strategy should not be used in Afghanistan at all, or we’ll lose. Peters said that the situation in Afghanistan is dire and Petraeus is a “lucky man” to have Obama cornered in order to make the strategic changes that will make winning this war achievable.
General Petraeus was in Afghanistan and made this announcement on what he wants to accomplish:
He also said the objective in Afghanistan is “We are in this to win.” Good. Did Obama ever say this? I don’t think so.
“We are engaged in a contest of wills,” Petraeus said Sunday as he accepted the command of U.S. and NATO forces before several hundred U.S., coalition and Afghan officials who gathered on a grassy area outside NATO headquarters in Kabul.
Petraeus, widely credited with turning around the U.S. war effort in Iraq, said the Taliban and their allies are killing and maiming civilians — even using “unwitting children to carry out attacks” — in an attempt to undermine public confidence in the Afghan government and the international community’s ability to prevail.
“In answer, we must demonstrate to the people and to the Taliban that Afghan and international forces are here to safeguard the Afghan people, and that we are in this to win,” Petraeus said on the Fourth of July, U.S. Independence Day.
Although Petraeus emphasized civilian protection, he did comment during the senate committee hearing that the rules of engagement is not high on his list when it comes to combatting the Taliban:
“What impresses the Taliban is not the rules of engagement. It’s the precise targeted operations that are designed to give them no rest. The idea is if you can get your teeth into the jugular of your enemy, you don’t let go.”
Now, that is the kind of talk we need and that is what Peters alluded to.
Cross-posted on blog: Cubachi.com