Afghan war unwinnable quagmire, decorated CIA field officer says

[G_j]

http://www.theage.com.au/national/afghan-war-unwinnable-quagmire-excia-man-says-20100901-14nkn.html

Afghan war unwinnable quagmire, ex-CIA man says
Dylan Welch
September 2, 2010

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THE war in Afghanistan is an unwinnable quagmire and poor US intelligence is leading to the deaths of Australian soldiers, a visiting former CIA officer says.

Robert Baer, a decorated CIA field officer of two decades experience who had spent years in the Middle East, said any chances the US and its allies had of defeating the Taliban in Afghanistan had already been squandered. The Coalition was fighting an unwinnable war, he said, and this was the case because victory required reliable intelligence.

'' have the same problem they had before 9/11. It is a system that doesn't work.''

That system sees CIA operatives and allied intelligence officers unable to gather reliable information because security concerns do not allow them to travel widely. And most do not speak the local language. ''They're all stuck behind the wire; they don't get out … it's like the crusades where you're stuck on your castle imagining what the natives are doing,'' he said.


..more..

[gateley]

1. Why is it so fucking difficult for Obama to see that? I know he thinks highly

of Patraeus but there are several others with experience who feel as this CIA officer does. Hagel comes to mind.

[G_j]

2. I would venture that

most of them agree with the OP.

[SoCalDem]

3. Guerrilla wars cannot be "won"

That's the problem with asymmetrical warfare. There is no way to ever really know the enemy or the friendlies (they often change over time). The guy you "fight" tonight may also be the guy who does your laundry tomorrow...or maybe one of his family members.

Insurgencies are a movement of the people...the same people our soldiers claim to be fighting "for" . The people in an insurgents' war can be fickle. They know that both "sides" are trying to win their favor, and they trade sides at will....serving tea to their American protectors one day, and then accepting aid & comfort from their own if they have more to offer.

This is happening in Pakistan right now, due to the flooding. The Taliban is able to help the locals easier than the government, so the loyalties are shifting already. It was the same after the Lebanon/Israel "war", Hezzbollah was right there to help the displaced people. when outside help was unavailable or slow getting to them.

We fight these insurgent wars at our own peril because they are never truly won..or ever truly over.

[Solly Mack]

4. Oh, I'm sure we can lie our way to - see quote inside-

"the outcome is a good one from the standpoint of the United States" (Gates on Iraq)- in Afghanistan too.

[bullwinkle428]

5. We just need some extra surgeberries on this bowl of breakfast goodness!

K&R.

[david13]

6. It doesn't take a decorated cia field officer to see this. Any idiot

can see it, as the Russians found out long ago.
However, the soldiers, the military need and want a job. What are they going to do? Plant flowers? Ergo ... war.
dc