🚀 go-pugleaf

On Fri, 07 Jul 2006 23:16:53 GMT, "Arved Sandstrom" <asandstrom@accesswave.ca>
wrote:

>"Brian Daily" <daily.brian@gmail.com.nomaps> wrote in message 
>news:mrita2luqf0dlo06p37us1jp9ei9l9gagc@4ax.com...
>> On Fri, 07 Jul 2006 20:59:03 GMT, "Arved Sandstrom" 
>> <asandstrom@accesswave.ca>
>> wrote:
>>
>>>Well, big deal. People get by. It's not like the Taliban aren't roasting
>>>either.
>>
>> They aren't packing 70 pounds of gear and body armor and they have spend 
>> their
>> lives there.
>
>To the degree that "spending your life" in one particular place uniquely 
>equips one to survive there, I don't buy it. People from elsewhere can adapt 
>fairly quickly. Or not adapt, to the same degree. What often goes unsaid is 
>that native peoples in harsh environments are paying the price every day of 
>their shorter lives.
>
>> You just don't get it.
>
>I think I do get it. I've spent some really serious quality time packing 70 
>pounds or more of gear, and I have a pretty finely developed appreciation 
>for what 25 pounds, 50 pounds, 75 pounds or 100 pounds feels like after 12 
>or 24 hours in various climatic conditions.
>
>> Equipment breakdowns are no big deal if you have time to fix it!
>
>True enough.
>
>> The Taliban don't give them time. Even changing a fucking tire is VERY 
>> risky.
>> Broken vehicles are blown up and left behind, even those with minor 
>> problems
>> because there is NO WAY to guard or retrieve them.
>
>I'll agree that a down vehicle out in hostile country presents a problem. 
>I'd disagree that the automatic thing to do is to blow it up, because in 
>this particular conflict the objective is to find and fix a relatively 
>elusive enemy; if a broken vehicle becomes a magnet for the baddies, that's 
>actually a tactical bonus,

Nonsense. RPGs have considerable range. On top of that the Taliban often need
less than a hour to mine a road in front of a patrol. There would be IEDs
everywhere between the broken down vehicle and home base in no time at all.
PLUS. To 'rescue' a vehicle in Afghanistan costs more in US air support than
it's worth.
The Canadian military will NOT ask the US for air support for this kind of
action making it even more dangerous.


BUT MORE IMPORTANT is the soft support in Canada for the Canadian action in
Afghanistan. Harper can't survive many more deaths. They will not take that kind
of political risk to save money at this point. So vehicles are being abandoned
by the MILLION$ right now.