[dfwgator]

In a counterinsurgency battle, one tries to win the hearts and minds of the populace, to prevent them from joining or aiding the other side.

And just how did that work out for us in Vietnam? You win by killing people and breaking their things.

[wideminded]

In a counterinsurgency battle, one tries to win the hearts and minds of the populace, to prevent them from joining or aiding the other side.

And just how did that work out for us in Vietnam? You win by killing people and breaking their things.

The current counterinsurgency theory of the military is based on the lessons of Vietnam. In Vietnam we killed 2 million people and dropped more bombs than in WWII and we lost. The Russians did something similar in Afghanistan. So it is NOT true that you can always win by killing people and breaking things.