Yellow Brick Road
One day the war will be over. And I hope that the people
that use this bridge in years to come will remember
how it was built and who built it. Not a gang of slaves,
but soldiers, British soldiers, Clipton, even in captivity
--Colonel Nicholson, Bridge On The River Kwai (1957)
I'm on the highway to hell Highway to hell
No stop signs, speedin' limit
Nobody's gonna slow me down
--Highway to Hell, AC/DC
____________
Since a recent post on Afghanistan, the forgotten / introductory / trial war ("Achtung, Baby"), a little bug has been crawling around in Ranger's Asperger-type brain.
The one achievement consistently lauded is the prodigious rate at which the U.S. is building highways in that country. But are these highways really such a great indicator of success in this counterinsurgency?
The one achievement consistently lauded is the prodigious rate at which the U.S. is building highways in that country. But are these highways really such a great indicator of success in this counterinsurgency?
A road is a high-speed avenue of approach. This a double-edged sword, for that which facilitates your operations also becomes a danger road when exploited by the opposition.
Think back to March and April 1975 in the Republic of Vietnam. The North Vietnamese armor juggernaut rolled over the country with a blockbuster attack. And what facilitated this blitzkrieg? That's right, folks -- hard-top, all-weather roads provided by the stalwart U.S. taxpayers at Uncle Sam's behest. Bridges are included in talk of roads.
Ranger is not so foolhardy as to indicate that the Taliban will use these roads to facilitate armor attacks, but roads are not the answer in a primitive, rough-ass country. Roads in fact channelize friendly operations and provide a target-rich environment to any anti-government forces.
Another consideration regarding the utility of the touted road system is the fact that traditionally the Afghan nation and people are too poor for extensive motor vehicle usage.
So why all the roads?
Join the
Labels: roads in afghanistan
posted by rangeragainstwar at 9:31 AM
5 Comments:
the russians cited the same road building things. the only folks who can really afford motor transport are the opium and hashish growers. of course, the history of colonial roads has always been one of two edged swords. the same roads the romans built while "civilizing" the gauls and the germans were the highways that were utilized by the visigoths and the huns.
Afghanistan sitting on a gold mine
Afghanistan is sitting on a wealth of mineral reserves -- perhaps the richest in the region -- that offer hope for a country mired in poverty after decades of war, the mining minister says.
Significant deposits of copper, iron, gold, oil and gas, and coal -- as well as precious gems such as emeralds and rubies -- are largely untapped and still being mapped, Mohammad Ibrahim Adel told AFP.
From here
http://agonist.org/20080221/iraq_afghanistan_dual_fronts_feb_21_29
Isn't always about Greed, the one other item oil companies want is a pipe line.
jo6pac
MB,, Two edged swords should be a planning consideration for COIN operators.
Jo6pac, the oil companies get their pipelines and the US taxpayers get the pipe. jim
on the two edge sword concept; one of the most disturbing aspects about the run-up and the conduct of this invasion and occupation has been a glaring and obvious lack of any long term thinking. military scholars from sun tsu through thucydides and clausewitz have all unanimously stressed the vital importance of serious long term thinking. even primitive field commanders like cochise and mangas coloradas factored their strategic thinking to the third generation.
we have entered a time where our leaders have counted on hope as a strategic factor and called their prayers a part of the plan.
our soldiers, our armed forces, our people and our nation deserve much better than they have gotten. in the bloody aftermath of this disaster the very least we deserve is a bare faced accounting. if it means that the architects of this are given immunity in order to reach something resembling a true account, so be it. if the causes and events that lead us to this place are not honestly outlined and understood we will be playing this same destructive game well into the future.
MB,
The references to the Apache warriors is interesting, and it's apparent that they were fighting for true survival. The disconnect from reality is what characterizes today's operations; they are frivolous, feel-good and phony. As history shows, Cochise didn't have very much wiggle-room.
I hope there will be accounting someday, also.
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