No problem with killing each and every little old lady and baby in those tribes, eh? That's what "obliterate" means btw. Just so we're clear.
A most interesting line, and worth further analysis.
Since we are dealing with guerrilla war, it is well to remember Mao's observation that the guerrilla ‘swims in the sea of peasants like a fish in the sea”.
Therefor, drain the sea of peasants. Or, in this case, use fuel/air bombs to wipe out villages supporting the Taliban.
Another observation worth contemplating is, “The Muslim understands best power and vengeance”.
However, Churchill said it best in The River War, 1899:
CHURCHILL ON ISLAM
Here is what Churchill said, in its entirety, about the horrific battle
to wrest the Sudan from the jihadists of the 19th century:
“How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries!
Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as
hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The
effects are apparent in many countries. Improvident habits, slovenly
systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of
property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live. A
degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement; the
next of its dignity and sanctity.
The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as
his absolute property, either as a child, a wife, or a concubine, must
delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased
to be a great power among men. Individual Moslems may show splendid
qualities - but the influence of the religion paralyses the social
development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists
in the world.
Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing
faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless
warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in
the strong arms of science, the science against which it had vainly
struggled, the civilisation of modern Europe might fall, as fell the
civilisation of ancient Rome.”
Sir Winston Churchill, from The River War, first edition, Vol. II,
pages 248-50 (London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1899).