Can an Assassination Campaign Turn the Tide in Afghanistan? - Polidicks

[QUOTE=italics560;24193666]I did 2 tours, my third got cut short because of issues at home (my mother passing on and my brother committing suicide). I was later discharged. When I got back I became a security manager at a night club owned by my cousin and did some bodyguard work on the side.[/QUOTE] Give this man hearts.

Really this was how things should have been done from the start. Terrorism is all about terror. And getting the media to spread said terror. If the government doesn't lose its shit and meets them with calm and calculated black operations, then the terror cells are going to lose their drive. If you don't show fear, then their tactics are worthless and they will ultimately fail.

[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;24183614]"Cut off the head and the body shall wither"[/QUOTE] You can't cut off God's head retard

[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;24192648]Are outer villages really that uninformed of the war in their country...? The US really needs to up its PR over there, if so. Hope you don't get sent over.[/QUOTE] The people in the villages aren't the brightest people in the world. That's why they're able to recruit them so easily.

once again, Afghanistan has one of the lowest literacy rates in the entire world. Most can't spell their own name. Most don't even know what year it is.

[QUOTE=italics560;24194579]once again, Afghanistan has one of the lowest literacy rates in the entire world. Most can't spell their own name. Most don't even know what year it is.[/QUOTE] My dad brought me back a War rug. [IMG]http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/7136/rug.jpg[/IMG] At least they knew what year it was.

[QUOTE=OvB;24194413]The people in the villages aren't the brightest people in the world. That's why they're able to recruit them so easily.[/QUOTE] I wouldn't say not bright so much as uninformed. Also, cool rug.

[QUOTE=italics560;24194579]Most don't even know what year it is.[/QUOTE] To Islam, the year is currently AH 1431. And I'd be illiterate too if I had to write like this [img]http://www.lanarkshirementalhealth.scot.nhs.uk/Images/Interpretation/Arabic1.bmp[/img]

[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;24192648]Are outer villages really that uninformed of the war in their country...? The US really needs to up its PR over there, if so. Hope you don't get sent over.[/QUOTE] There is a high probability that I will be sent there. 5th Strykers Brigade is over there fighting right now. 4th Stryker(my unit) is leaving Iraq. We won't deploy again for at least another year or two. Almost all information is put out by the Village Elder. He is usually the most educated and able to both read and write. Before we showed up, all information that anyone got came from the Taliban directly. Electricity is a rare luxury, so phone lines are out of the question. All information is usually exchanged by spoken word, like a nation wide game of telephone. So it is easy to lose important facts or details.

[QUOTE=JoeyZ;24195303]To Islam, the year is currently AH 1431. And I'd be illiterate too if I had to write like this [img]http://www.lanarkshirementalhealth.scot.nhs.uk/Images/Interpretation/Arabic1.bmp[/img][/QUOTE] You're just saying that because you've been brought up learning a different language.

[QUOTE=Superwafflez;24183283]Take down the leadership and the cells descend into internal rivalry. It's a true and tested strategy. But why didn't they use this from the very beginning, it seems too obvious that they should have.[/QUOTE] It wouldn't have been as drawn out, meaning less money.

Sure, I think you americans should also throw some nuclear warheads on there, and while you are at it exterminate the native population, get some black slaves and build a new free country.

We've assassinated terrorist leaders before. They always just get replaced a day or two later.

[QUOTE=BloodYScar;24204686]Sure, I think you americans should also throw some nuclear warheads on there, and while you are at it exterminate the native population, get some black slaves and build a new free country.[/QUOTE] :milk: Except these are surgical strikes with a few missiles instead of flattening a village and it's surrounding area

[QUOTE=Disgruntled;24207429]We've assassinated terrorist leaders before. They always just get replaced a day or two later.[/QUOTE] More like five or ten minutes later. Assassinating these leaders won't do shit because the second in command will just take over.

[QUOTE=JDK721;24208150]More like five or ten minutes later. Assassinating these leaders won't do shit because the second in command will just take over.[/QUOTE] This isn't a quick-fix strategy. Like everything, it takes time in order to become effective. You can't just kill one leader and expect all the insurgents to put down their weapons - you need to continually wear down the leadership to the point where lower-ranking insurgents realise that being up top is [b]not[/b] where you want to be. Then, without an effective leadership, the Taliban will be screwed. It's tried and tested - by the Taliban - so if it works for them why can't work for us?

[QUOTE=PvtCupcakes;24183933]How bout no. Lets just leave Afghanistan, but who cares about rational thought right?[/QUOTE] Yeah let's leave Afghanistan and leave the millions of innocent people there in the hands of warring factions who have no regard for the rules of war or human life. Great idea.

[QUOTE=italics560;24193666]I did 2 tours, my third got cut short because of issues at home (my mother passing on and my brother committing suicide). I was later discharged. When I got back I became a security manager at a night club owned by my cousin and did some bodyguard work on the side.[/QUOTE] So, did you get injured or hit by IEDs?

We should use nukes :kiddo:

[QUOTE=David29;24208875]This isn't a quick-fix strategy. Like everything, it takes time in order to become effective. You can't just kill one leader and expect all the insurgents to put down their weapons - you need to continually wear down the leadership to the point where lower-ranking insurgents realise that being up top is [b]not[/b] where you want to be. Then, without an effective leadership, the Taliban will be screwed. It's tried and tested - by the Taliban - so if it works for them why can't work for us?[/QUOTE] So nine years isn't enough time?

Any system that works with cells that refer to a higher leadership is already insulated against an assassination campaign by virtue of the fact the cells can lead themselves, and are meant to, whenever the high authority is dormant, removed or otherwise displaced. What they're apparently hoping to do now is either A) Make a better public impact by knocking out leadership which would in theory demoralize potential revolutionaries and disorganize affected cells and branches while marginalizing the actions of others or B) Legimitimitely trying to destroy the hydra by cutting off all of the heads in an effort to leave it without enough blood to stay concious.

This probably should have been done from the start. Afghanistan shouldn't have been invaded in the first place, assassinations should have just been plenty and frequent. There's no real way to pin it on any particular country (though the assumption would likely be "america" and it'd probably be right) and it just causes confusion and a bit of panic among the people you are assassinating. Though, it's likely easier said than done. You'd still need to have bases somewhere nearby the country, and you'd need extremely devoted and skilled forces to do the jobs, as they'd likely need to be in the country for days and even weeks to do the job right (unless you're hiring some amateur, but that's pretty risky). Sounds like a pipe dream, but if some military could just deploy highly trained and devoted independent snipers into the country for months or even years to track down and prioritize targets, it'd probably be a pretty effective means of keeping a country like Afghanistan in check. If high priory individuals among the Taliban (or Al-Qauda) are frequently getting sniped out, blown up, or killed in their sleep, I think people would be a bit hesitant to take up a leadership position. Like I said, though, it's hard to find assassins that devoted and skilled; considering anybody like that would need to remain in the country, and remain largely undetected for months and possibly years, and that'd be a very arduous and emotionally difficult task. Espionage and assassination are pretty dirty tactics, but I think it's probably better than a full on invasion that kills thousands of innocent lives and costs billions of dollars; I know the ends don't justify the means, but false flag operations, death squads, and covert assassinations would undeniably cost less far lives, time, and money than a war campaign. All the time that wasted developing technology and training for full-on war could probably be put towards methods and equipment that could be catering towards long term espionage campaigns; including assassinations, and false flag operations. Unfortunately, this doesn't really offer any long term solution to Afghanistan, but on the rebound, it appears that neither did a long term war operation. Tonnes of lives, money, and time has been devoted to Afghanistan, and it's still a festering shithole. At least with espionage tactics, it'd be a festering shithole that doesn't pose as big a threat to the rest of the world. Afghanistan is one of those countries that will just have to sort itself out. No outside intervention is going to change anything there, at least with black operations, you can keep the country in check from afar for less lives and money.

[QUOTE=Testabar;24203711]There is a high probability that I will be sent there. 5th Strykers Brigade is over there fighting right now. 4th Stryker(my unit) is leaving Iraq. We won't deploy again for at least another year or two. [/QUOTE] Good luck, man. Hope you stay okay. [QUOTE=Disgruntled;24207429]We've assassinated terrorist leaders before. They always just get replaced a day or two later.[/QUOTE] If you noticed at the title, it said "turn the tide", not "win the whole war".

[QUOTE=Ignhelper;24209632]So, did you get injured or hit by IEDs?[/QUOTE] I've been near them. Some debris cut me pretty bad. But that got fixed up. But I have had friends who have gotten blown to pieces by them. It happened to my best friend 2 weeks after we got there. Fucking kid that was barely 10 walked up to him offering him a soda, when he took the soda, it was actually attached to a string the pulled the pins of several grenades attached to the kids shirt. I had to see my best friend with his guts hanging out and screaming uncontrollably. We knew he didn't have a chance so we had to put him out of his misery. I can't ever look at kids the same way again. I can't be near places like schools or chucky cheeses or something without thinking about that day.

[QUOTE=italics560;24214050]I've been near them. Some debris cut me pretty bad. But that got fixed up. But I have had friends who have gotten blown to pieces by them. It happened to my best friend 2 weeks after we got there. Fucking kid that was barely 10 walked up to him offering him a soda, when he took the soda, it was actually attached to a string the pulled the pins of several grenades attached to the kids shirt. I had to see my best friend with his guts hanging out and screaming uncontrollably. We knew he didn't have a chance so we had to put him out of his misery. I can't ever look at kids the same way again. I can't be near places like schools or chucky cheeses or something without thinking about that day.[/QUOTE] I don't buy it. The pins on fragmentation grenades are difficult to remove for safety reasons. The hollywood pull the pin out of a grenade with your teeth deal is way overblown. Daisy chaining a string to them would make it extremely difficult to take the soda, much less pull the pins on the grenades. Furthermore once you pull the pin on a grenade, the spoon will eject and start the fuse. This makes a sound that any soldier is going to INSTANTLY recognize. Now add this to the fact that grenades have a four or five second fuse at least, and that is a substantial amount of time to clear the blast zone. As even a vest of grenades doesn't actually have the ability to do a lot of damage to anything not biological in nature. And finally shooting friendly soldiers, even badly wounded ones, is most certainly not kosher and is never something a soldier would admit to. My conclusion: Hi Linelor!

[QUOTE=GunFox;24214160]I don't buy it. My conclusion: Hi Linelor![/QUOTE] You're probably right. No offense if that story is true, but that sounded pretty cheesy and far fetched. If that story is a lie, he's a disgusting human being worth of the title "scum." At least linelor's stories were more down to earth and realistic, but lying about events of this magnitude.....

[QUOTE=GunFox;24214160]I don't buy it. The pins on fragmentation grenades are difficult to remove for safety reasons. The hollywood pull the pin out of a grenade with your teeth deal is way overblown. Daisy chaining a string to them would make it extremely difficult to take the soda, much less pull the pins on the grenades. Furthermore once you pull the pin on a grenade, the spoon will eject and start the fuse. This makes a sound that any soldier is going to INSTANTLY recognize. Now add this to the fact that grenades have a four or five second fuse at least, and that is a substantial amount of time to clear the blast zone. As even a vest of grenades doesn't actually have the ability to do a lot of damage to anything not biological in nature. And finally shooting friendly soldiers, even badly wounded ones, is most certainly not kosher and is never something a soldier would admit to. My conclusion: Hi Linelor![/QUOTE] lol [editline]09:02PM[/editline] Looks like somebody got busted. [editline]09:07PM[/editline] Relevant: [URL]http://www.facepunch.com/showpost.php?p=21873855&postcount=80[/URL]

[QUOTE=GunFox;24214160]I don't buy it. The pins on fragmentation grenades are difficult to remove for safety reasons. The hollywood pull the pin out of a grenade with your teeth deal is way overblown. Daisy chaining a string to them would make it extremely difficult to take the soda, much less pull the pins on the grenades. Furthermore once you pull the pin on a grenade, the spoon will eject and start the fuse. This makes a sound that any soldier is going to INSTANTLY recognize. Now add this to the fact that grenades have a four or five second fuse at least, and that is a substantial amount of time to clear the blast zone. As even a vest of grenades doesn't actually have the ability to do a lot of damage to anything not biological in nature. And finally shooting friendly soldiers, even badly wounded ones, is most certainly not kosher and is never something a soldier would admit to. My conclusion: Hi Linelor![/QUOTE] :iceburn:

[QUOTE=GunFox;24214160]:words: My conclusion: Hi Linelor![/QUOTE] Hahahahaha.

[QUOTE=JDK721;24213006]So nine years isn't enough time?[/QUOTE] Nine years? The whole idea of a dedicated assassination campaign has only just been started. Before that the war was mostly conventional warfare mixed with the 'hearts and minds' approach.