Originally posted by: palehorse
That's funny, I don't recall NATO ever utilizing suicide bombers against civilian targets, or ever intentionally initiating contact against civilians... anywhere. In fact, the ROE is so restrictive that I've personally witnessed NATO forces getting wounded and killed after being told that they were not allowed to return fire on a target due to potential civilian casualties. Hell, I've personally taken fire from a "mosque" (read: building that looks like every other, but someone believes that it "might" be a mosque), and been denied permission to return fire.Originally posted by: Lemon law
Palehorse may or may not make a valid point, as the Taliban uses reprehensible tactics, it should help Nato win the battle for hearts and minds in Afghanistan, but sadly, an infinite number of such stories does not excuse a single example of Nato using similar representable tactics.
Do have any idea how many levels must be consulted before fire can be returned in areas populated by civilians!? Do you have any idea the number of casualties our forces have sustained as a result of being overly cautious?! Did you know that JAG officers and intelligence officers are consulted in an hourly basis to provide judgment calls and advice pertaining to actions where "proportional response" comes into play?
Bah... this is what happens when uninitiated civilians attempt to interpret reports on wars being fought halfway around the world.
It seems like it would be smart for folks involved in this discussion to pay attention to posts like this. In a democratic society we shouldn't exclude people from a discussion because they aren't members of the right group...but the national defense and intelligence business, just like anything else, is a field where the best commentary can often be provided by the people who have experience and knowledge. There can be, and should be, constant evaluation to make sure the job is being done right, but it seems kind of silly for people to draw conclusions about what's going on when they don't really even understand the topic being discussed.
There are valid complaints about some approaches NATO and US forces use, and ways in which I think we could be fighting this war better. But equating our tactics with the tactics of the Taliban moves this from reasonable discussion to mud slinging.
