Who could blame all the pundits for citing Rudyard Kipling's "The Young British Soldier" to describe the coming war in Afghanistan? Indeed, the Soviet Union excelled in illustrating Kipling's words when they invaded Afghanistan - "When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains . jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains." The Soviet military was defeated after fighting for ten years with 15,000 of its soldiers dead and some 469,685 wounded or incapacitated. Despite this precedent, Americans can be confident that the U.S. will win this war. The foundation of our victory rests not on some simple element of firepower or the fact that the U.S. is no Soviet Union. Rather, it is one based on a strategy that the Bush Administration has laid out and founded on the strength of the American people.
The first component of this strategy is based on intelligence. Especially in a country with rough terrain, intelligence can save or destroy regiments. The intelligence reports from Afghanistan, according to the Associated Press, come from two main sources: Special forces and the Northern Alliance rebels. Through this type of local and real time intelligence, the U.S. can avoid the Soviet Union's failures.
Secondly, President Bush has correctly decided to utilize airborne cavalry in Afghanistan as opposed to conventional ground troops. In other words, special forces in conjunction with paratroopers like that of 82nd Airborne would be the spearhead of retaliation. Moreover, they are to receive direct support from gun-ships such as A-130s and attack helicopters like that of AH-64. The basis for using the airborne can be found in the Soviet experience. In the beginning of the conflict, the Soviets only used regular infantry to carry out search-and-destroy missions against Afghanistan's rebels. As a result, the Soviet Army rarely found anything or anyone to terminate but instead were only vulnerable to snipers.
Thirdly, perhaps the most crucial factor in winning this war is the U.S. air force strategy. Our bombers and fighters cannot be used so widely as they were during the Gulf War because there really aren't too many targets that they can hit effectively. Consequently, the aircraft are being deployed to (1) provide air cover for helicopters against anti-air defenses; (2) only bomb targets that can draw out or pressure the terrorists to move out of their bases, which can then be attacked in piece meal by paratroopers.
As in every war, however, the war against terrorism will also require strong support before it can be won. In large, the war effort is receiving just that, as most Americans show their sign of support. Nevertheless, there is a disturbing trend. There are those who believe, no, preach that this war is racist and fascist. The extreme leftists argue that this war is being supported by right-wing nationalists who want to do away with civil liberties. It is a twisted argument which dares to claim that 89% of all Americans must be fascist and racist since they support retaliation.
The extreme liberals' political agenda behind claiming this war to be racist and fascist is all too obvious and disgusting. Disagree with the war if you want. Disagree with how the war is being conducted if you want. But politicians should know better than to be so inhumane as to be politicking or crying fowl about their chances in the next election when 6,500 Americans are dead or missing. Simply put, Osama bin Laden is our enemy not because he is Muslim, but because he is a cold-blooded murderer with a political agenda to topple America and other free nations. The same goes for civil liberties. The protests in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles in the past weeks should be a clear indication that freedom of speech is alive, loud and clear.
Theodore Roosevelt once said, "If I must choose between righteousness and peace, I choose righteousness." America's choice must be the same. We can win this war with Bush's strategy of counterinsurgency against the terrorists. The great majority of Americans have already decided to use their resources and time in the greatest manner possible: to spend it for something that will outlast it, for justice, freedom and our loved ones. For this reason, we will win this war.
Sources for this article include: Janes Group, The Economist, Fox News FAS, Department of Defense, The Washington Times, The Washington Post, Gallup Organization
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