Re: Afghanistani Warfare.

[Jacob E Boucher <jbuchr@xxxxxx>]

On Thu, 13 Sep 2001, Charles Little wrote:
> Well, that was one of the classic examples of true military doctrine on
> war.  The object of a war is not to destroy your enemy, but to destroy
> your enemy's _ability_ and/or _will_ to continue.  The NVA destroyed our
> _will_ to continue- you don't need military superiority to do that (though
> it does help).

I think we destroyed our own will to fight.  Drafted soldiers that would
rather smoke up and get high than fight in a war they didn't believe in,
and people at home who tore into the soldiers as well as the politicians
with equal fury.  

The Vietnamese side of this was that the sapped our will because they were
impossible to fight *using the rules the soldiers had been given*.
Anyone's will to fight would be destroyed if they were in a war they don't
want, fighting for something they don't believe, against an enemy who they
can't attack because someone 10,000 miles away won't let them do their
jobs.  

But in essence, I agree with you.  We never wanted that war, so it was
no suprise when we didn't win.

-- 
Jacob E. Boucher
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