Comments for The Momo http://www.themomo.co.uk Burnt offerings. Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:08:12 -0700 hourly 1 Comment on Afghaniblarrrrgh by Booseffe http://www.themomo.co.uk/?p=67&cpage=1#comment-3 Booseffe Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:08:12 +0000 http://www.themomo.co.uk/?p=67#comment-3 Iraq was a different kettle of fish, one that I know very little about, so will avoid comment on that. Will hopefully learn some more at some point and get back to you. Yes, we need goals and the end goal is “handing the campaign in Afghanistan to the Afghanistan government”, but in a counterinsurgency war deadlines are (in my view) dodgy. Been trying to write out a long and detailed answer, but it just comes down to the fact that the Taliban will just sit it out. They just have to hold out until 2012 or 2015 or 2020 or whenever it is, and then they will creep back into the cities and into parliament and they will declare it a victory. And that victory won't just be for the Taliban, it'll be for the other groups that have a perverted sense of Islam and who view terrorism as an acceptable method of political discourse, but it'll go beyond that. They will have vanquished a coalition of some of the most powerful nations in the world. That sends out a message to every asshole who hates us that if they just stick it out long enough, we can be beaten. They're canny. They've taken to planting secondary IEDs near the first one, so they can blow up the guys that come to rescue the first guys. They also have a strong narrative of being the country that breaks empires. And if you put yourself in the shoes of a Taliban footsoldier, it makes sense to wait it out. Iraq was a different kettle of fish, one that I know very little about, so will avoid comment on that. Will hopefully learn some more at some point and get back to you.

Yes, we need goals and the end goal is “handing the campaign in Afghanistan to the Afghanistan government”, but in a counterinsurgency war deadlines are (in my view) dodgy.

Been trying to write out a long and detailed answer, but it just comes down to the fact that the Taliban will just sit it out. They just have to hold out until 2012 or 2015 or 2020 or whenever it is, and then they will creep back into the cities and into parliament and they will declare it a victory. And that victory won’t just be for the Taliban, it’ll be for the other groups that have a perverted sense of Islam and who view terrorism as an acceptable method of political discourse, but it’ll go beyond that. They will have vanquished a coalition of some of the most powerful nations in the world. That sends out a message to every asshole who hates us that if they just stick it out long enough, we can be beaten.

They’re canny. They’ve taken to planting secondary IEDs near the first one, so they can blow up the guys that come to rescue the first guys. They also have a strong narrative of being the country that breaks empires. And if you put yourself in the shoes of a Taliban footsoldier, it makes sense to wait it out.

]]> Comment on Afghaniblarrrrgh by Adam http://www.themomo.co.uk/?p=67&cpage=1#comment-2 Adam Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:28:28 +0000 http://www.themomo.co.uk/?p=67#comment-2 Just wanted to make a comment/pose a question in defense of ol' Gordon. This sounds very similar to the debates we in the US had during the presidential election about setting a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. The main thing I thought then, and seems to apply now is this: If you want to make progress in Afghanistan, does that not require setting goals (the end goal being "handing the campaign in Afghanistan to the Afghanistan government"), and isn't part of setting goals also giving dead-lines to those goals? In my experience, having concrete deadlines is a very strong motivator for getting things done, and even if they are not strictly met, they can still motivate progress (both on an indiviual and institutional scale). - Adam P.S. Am I the first commenter on the new, improved Momo? Just wanted to make a comment/pose a question in defense of ol’ Gordon. This sounds very similar to the debates we in the US had during the presidential election about setting a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. The main thing I thought then, and seems to apply now is this:

If you want to make progress in Afghanistan, does that not require setting goals (the end goal being “handing the campaign in Afghanistan to the Afghanistan government”), and isn’t part of setting goals also giving dead-lines to those goals?

In my experience, having concrete deadlines is a very strong motivator for getting things done, and even if they are not strictly met, they can still motivate progress (both on an indiviual and institutional scale).

- Adam

P.S. Am I the first commenter on the new, improved Momo?

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