remember the lesson of Viet Nam......

Current Events » in reply to Belmont Club's take on this

remember the lesson of Viet Nam......

Publius — 11/9/2004 8:41:33 PM (archived)

When a suspect village was cleansed, the insurgents melted away and took refuge in another village.

When US troops left, they filtered back to the spot they had vacated.

The reason they were living there in the first place is they had popular support. When they left and the Americans came in the support didn't leave with them. It stayed. When the insurgents came back they came back welcomed.

Insurgency requires a good measure of popular support. Only political means can get rid of this support, not simple force of arms or military superiority.

Publius

The whole thread (37 posts)

Fallujah - Tom Brosz - 11/8/2004 5:29:36 PM
- More Bilal Hussein photos - Tom Brosz - 11/8/2004 9:47:02 PM
  - Except for the few photos of insurgents, he would have you believe Americans are targeting civilians. - ebnelson - 11/8/2004 11:05:45 PM
    - More "Propaganda crap from the Islamo-fascists." - Lindy - 11/9/2004 4:04:55 PM
      - Then Nazis who resisted the occuptaion were insurgents - ebnelson - 11/9/2004 5:16:59 PM
        
        Iraq had NOTHING to do with 9/11 nor were they an immediate threat to the US - Lindy - 11/9/2004 5:39:10 PM
        
        So we let them bomb us first? - ebnelson - 11/9/2004 7:20:15 PM
        
        There has been plenty of time to locate Saddam's plans for pre-emptive strike against the US (guffaw!) (n/t) - alcaray - 11/9/2004 10:11:09 PM
      - re: Propaganda crap - Tom Brosz - 11/9/2004 4:51:58 PM
        
        Who was Zarqawi BEFORE this war? - Lindy - 11/9/2004 5:46:39 PM
        
        re: Who was Zarqawi BEFORE this war? He was Al Qaeda's man to Baghdad, that is who. (n/t) - ebnelson - 11/9/2004 7:21:30 PM
        
        If we had never invaded Iraq, Zarqawi would be cutting heads off in Afghanistan. - Tom Brosz - 11/9/2004 6:28:48 PM
  - "Pretty much what you'd expect" - what do you mean, Tom? - LJ - 11/8/2004 10:03:25 PM
    - This. - Tom Brosz - 11/8/2004 10:16:24 PM
      - Saws versus 500 lb. bombs........... - Lindy - 11/9/2004 4:06:37 PM
        
        Tell ya what, Lindy. - Tom Brosz - 11/9/2004 4:57:19 PM
        
        Apples and Oranges - Lindy - 11/9/2004 5:50:03 PM
        
        Action vs inaction - Tom Brosz - 11/9/2004 6:23:27 PM
        
        I hope nobody notices the arrows clutched in the American Eagles claw - alcaray. - 11/11/2004 12:43:50 AM
        
        You see those as equivalent? Cripes. (n/t) - Tom Brosz - 11/11/2004 2:25:35 AM
        
        I see them both as a symbol of warlikeness that should not be used to infer specific intentions. In that respect, equivalent. (n/t) - alcaray - 11/11/2004 5:10:24 PM
        
        Let me make sure I get this straight... - Tom Brosz - 11/12/2004 4:07:11 AM
        
        I said exactly what I meant twice before: no intent can be inferred from either symbol. - alcaray - 11/12/2004 4:34:45 PM
        
        Was it worth a shot? - Lindy - 11/10/2004 4:21:27 AM
        
        re: Look in a mirror - Scott Evil - 11/9/2004 6:02:03 PM
      - re: This. - LJ - 11/8/2004 10:27:16 PM
        
        Just something to keep in mind. - Tom Brosz - 11/8/2004 10:35:34 PM
- My guess is that most of the terrorists have fled. I have the suspicion that the USA is hitting empty targets. - David F Mayer - 11/8/2004 6:41:28 PM
  - To win, the insurgents have only to not lose---run away,fight another day........... (n/t) - Publius - 11/9/2004 5:11:29 PM
  - Are you suggesting that it's the equivalent of hitting jelly with a sledgehammer? (n/t) - Jacob Samorodin - 11/9/2004 4:34:19 PM
    - Good analogy........... - Lindy - 11/9/2004 5:51:25 PM
  - Belmont Club's take on this - Tom Brosz - 11/8/2004 9:14:23 PM
    - remember the lesson of Viet Nam...... - Publius - 11/9/2004 8:41:33 PM
      - You don't need popular support if you have fear. - Tom Brosz - 11/9/2004 9:32:21 PM
  - I'd like to think the Marines have thought of that. - Tom Brosz - 11/8/2004 7:33:08 PM
    - On "getting treatrment" for the "slippery bastards"............. - Lindy - 11/9/2004 4:19:30 PM
      - . (n/t) - . - 11/12/2004 4:13:41 PM

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