Thomas Ricks had an interesting piece in his blog at Foreign Policy. He lists the "19 True Things Generals can't Say in Public about the Afghan War". I particularly like number three:
"The strategy is to fight, talk, build. But we're withdrawing the fighters, the Taliban won't talk, and the builders are corrupt."
Numbers 9-11 are also quite informative:
"Yes, the exit deadline is killing us."
"Even if you got a deal with the Taliban, it wouldn't end the fighting"
"The Taliban may be willing to fight forever. We are not."
So, remember generals do not tell anyone the truth and do not say things included in Ricks' list. If you do, remember Gen. McChrystal?
"The strategy is to fight, talk, build. But we're withdrawing the fighters, the Taliban won't talk, and the builders are corrupt."
Numbers 9-11 are also quite informative:
"Yes, the exit deadline is killing us."
"Even if you got a deal with the Taliban, it wouldn't end the fighting"
"The Taliban may be willing to fight forever. We are not."
So, remember generals do not tell anyone the truth and do not say things included in Ricks' list. If you do, remember Gen. McChrystal?
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