Afghanistan & Sherman's Legacy

The New Media Journal ^ | Sept 30, 2009 | AJ DiCintio

[NewMediaJournal]

Things are not going so well in Afghanistan, the amorphous, quasi-nation a Dutch NATO commander describes as making him feel he is “walking through the Old Testament.”

And, unsurprisingly, thoughts regarding what to do about the situation are as plentiful as the colors of the autumn leaves.

Problem is, few opinions I’ve read or heard take up three ideas pronounced by General William T. Sherman — ideas that are absolutely essential to the conduct of any war.

The first and second are contained in these lines that contain perhaps the most famous three word sentence ever written:

“I am tired and sick of war. Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, for vengeance, for desolation. War is hell.”

The third is found in this line:

“War is the remedy that our enemies have chosen, and I say let us give them all they want.”

[geologist]

‘...“I am tired and sick of war. Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, for vengeance, for desolation. War is hell.”

The third is found in this line:

“War is the remedy that our enemies have chosen, and I say let us give them all they want.” ...

___________________________________________________________
EVEN THE ILLUSION OF FREEDOM WILL BE SUBMITTED.

Are we really going to continue down this same direction?

[Joe 6-pack]

The author should have also considered these Sherman dictums in light of the MSM's coverage of the war...

"I hate newspapermen. They come into camp and pick up their camp rumors and print them as facts. I regard them as spies, which, in truth, they are."

"If I had my choice I would kill every reporter in the world, but I am sure we would be getting reports from Hell before breakfast. "

[RC2]

The third one is all well and good......except for one thing. Our troops can’t fire unless fired upon and then they have to ask for permission. This is totally crazy. Get JAG out of there and if they are going to fight a war, fight a war.

[expatguy]

The war could be over in one month if we truly had what it takes. Trouble is... we don't have what it takes.

In many ways though I'm with George Will though. We need to bring all our troops home without further delay.

Perhaps next time when we lose a city or two we will have the intestinal fortitude to do what needs to be done, but at this point in time we don't.

[BGHater]

“I fear the world will jump to the wrong conclusion that because I am in Atlanta the work is done. Far from it. We must kill three hundred thousand, I have told you of so often, and the further they run the harder for us to get them.” -Sherman

[Billthedrill]

I certainly understand the sentiment involved, but the notion that a campaign against the support infrastructure of the Taliban and al Qaeda similar to the one used by Sherman against the South probably needs a little examination. Waziristan isn't Georgia. And our strategic aims in Afghanistan aren't the same as those the Union had against the Confederacy.

On the broad notion that we are not succeeding in Afghanistan because we are insufficiently ruthless I have little to say beside pointing out that the Soviet campaigns in that country did not suffer from that deficiency and also did not succeed.

The real deficiency in U.S. policy is a lack of strategic vision on the part of civilian leadership and a lack of determination on that same part to see the thing through with no regard to political consequences. And there is nothing on the horizon to indicate that any of that will change. Blaming the military for not torching everything in sight is, I gently suggest, a little off the mark.

[kenavi]

The real deficiency in U.S. policy is a lack of strategic vision on the part of civilian leadership

Would Gen. Sherman have accepted heading up the Occupation of the South governed by leaders as corrupt as Afghanistan's?

[SeeSharp]

Would Gen. Sherman have accepted heading up the Occupation of the South governed by leaders as corrupt as Afghanistan's?

Have you ever read anything about the Republican puppet governments that were installed during reconstruction? Karzai is a saint compared to them.

[JohnQ1]

When we lose a city or two, Lord Obama will apologize for the George Bush mistakes that made our destruction necessary. Huh? See tagline.

[kenavi]

Have you ever read anything about the Republican puppet governments that were installed during reconstruction? Karzai is a saint compared to them.

That's my point, as was yours, that a corrupt government impedes the success of a counter-insurgency campaign. In fact, after the War, Sherman served in the American West, not in the South.