Any war can be won. For us, its a question of having the will to enough firepower to break the enemy’s will. Clearly, we don’t. From the accounts I’ve read, the current rules of engagement have turned out troops into a laughstock in the eyes of the Afghani locals. It does not engender respect when you know exactly where the insurgents are and then you let them escape. When the locals don’t respect you, all the aid and jawboning in the world won’t help.
That is what so many are missing. That is true everywhere but in some parts of the world it is everything.