Right. No rag-tag group of peasants could possibly resist the power of the US military. Certainly not for long
What?? 18 years? Really? What do you call the place? AFGHANISTAN? Never heard of it.
Taliban Again Eyeing Power in Afghanistan?
Now, the counter I hear from those pushing the U.S. Military Supremacy Theory (many of whom are older vets) is that the "politicians didn't allow the US Military to win". That's an interesting theory. It is true we did forswore first use of nuclear weapons against the Taliban in our 18 year war. It's also, I recall from my youth, something that bitter Vietnam Vets claimed after the US Military defeat in Vietnam.ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN - With a draft peace agreement between the United States and the Afghan Taliban circulating after 10 months of negotiations, the insurgent group is pushing a new media campaign boasting about what it describes as the “success” of its past strict Islamic rule.
The Taliban was routinely condemned for brutal rule and violent tactics during its time in power in Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, when it denied nearly all girls and women access to education and imposed strict rules over everyday life, such as a ban on television.
With the group on the verge of signing a peace agreement with the U.S. which could see an end to the 18-year-old Afghan war and the departure of U.S. and coalition troops by the end of 2020, it's revisiting its tenure in power.
“The Islamic Emirate (Taliban) foremostly prioritizes delivering freedom and prosperity to its country and oppressed people,” the Taliban asserted in a statement released Monday while referring to its controversial government in Kabul in the 1990s.
“No puppet government or organization has delivered success and progress to Afghanistan and its people in the way that the Islamic Emirate has and continues to do so,” it said.
The hardline group routinely refers to the democratically elected governments in Afghanistan as "puppets" of outside powers. That's one reason why the group has refused to hold formal peace talks with Afghan government representatives.
Under the draft peace deal between Washington and the group, the Taliban will be bound not to allow al-Qaida and other transnational militant groups to orchestrate international terrorism out of Afghanistan. But U.S. representatives say that does not mean the U.S. is considering abandoning support for the Afghan government and its security forces.
Read the rest at the link if you are interested.. it goes on at length.
The guy who has really put this all together, to explain why conventional Nation State Militaries have routinely been losing to insurgents in the last 50 years, in William Lind. A good short read that explains his theory of 4th Generation Warfare is this short primer:
