Paying the Taleban

[Gaderael]

It is incredibly naive to think that any counter insurgency war

Just read this story;
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8309464.stm
It says how allegedly the Italians had been paying the Taleban to not attack them, the French then took over the region unaware of this and within weeks had 10 men killed in an ambush. Before then only 1 Italian had been killed.

I have to say as much as I hope its not true it does fit in with the Italian war pattern...They switched sides in WW1, switched sides in WW2 and have now basically done the same in Afghanistan. What do you think about this?

It is incredibly naive to think that any war can be won with out negotiating with and probably paying off the insurgents. This reminds me of that fucking ridiculous furore some fuckers stirred up when it came out that NATO was negotiating with the talibs.

Saying they have "joined the other side" is frankly an idiotic statement that makes me ferventely hope that you never command any sort of counter insurgency campaign. The Italians pay them chicken feed. They stay in their caves getting high. The Italians build schools, roads etc, Afghan government establishes a presence. Wins trust of local people. When the Italians stop paying the Taliban come back to the villages to find hostile locals and strong local government.

Whos the winner there? Think before saying random bullshit.

Well said sir. Saves me the trouble of having to write all that out.

 

[Steelfists]

It is incredibly naive to think that any counter insurgency war

Just read this story;
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8309464.stm
It says how allegedly the Italians had been paying the Taleban to not attack them, the French then took over the region unaware of this and within weeks had 10 men killed in an ambush. Before then only 1 Italian had been killed.

I have to say as much as I hope its not true it does fit in with the Italian war pattern...They switched sides in WW1, switched sides in WW2 and have now basically done the same in Afghanistan. What do you think about this?

It is incredibly naive to think that any war can be won with out negotiating with and probably paying off the insurgents. This reminds me of that fucking ridiculous furore some fuckers stirred up when it came out that NATO was negotiating with the talibs.

Saying they have "joined the other side" is frankly an idiotic statement that makes me ferventely hope that you never command any sort of counter insurgency campaign. The Italians pay them chicken feed. They stay in their caves getting high. The Italians build schools, roads etc, Afghan government establishes a presence. Wins trust of local people. When the Italians stop paying the Taliban come back to the villages to find hostile locals and strong local government.

Whos the winner there? Think before saying random bullshit.

This doesent suggest that the Taliban reduces their presence, only that they don't attack Italian forces.

But, sureley they HAVE to reduce their presence if they can't attack the Italians.

I would disagree, the Taliban (as far as I know) do not wear uniforms and I assume the Italian soldiers have ceased fire upon them if they aren't being attacked.

The point is the Italians would establish their prescence, and thereby denying the Taliban access to the areas they are in, along with the Afghan Army (not the Police, they are corrupt as fuck).

I agree with you in theory, in practice however I would imagine the Taliban would merely use the money to recruit more soldiers and buy more weaponry. It would serve as a morale booster and undermine the strength of the occupying forces. The Afghani army seems to be a complete joke, although atleast it isn't corrupt.

I doubt we could be so cocky as to assume they would be dumb enough to take their eyes off of their entire purpose. (Taking over Afghanistan and gaining power over population)

1: They did use the monies to recruit more men and buy new guns. It is a disadvantage.

2: They don't need to be badarse special forces killers. They just need to be in villages, mixing with the population, dealing with their problems, keeping order, and generally showing that they are there to stay. The Taliban are shitty tacticians too, and at least the ANA will have their NATO mentors to boost their ability.

3: True. But if this a deal with commanders on a local level they will probably be looking out for their narrow self interest, and if not, we are back to the status quo, nothing gained, nothing lost.