Subjugating Afghanistan

Subjugating Afghanistan

Recently the Newspapers were all in a rage about the Italian Forces in Afghanistan paying bribes to the Taliban Forces to go easy. Apparently nobody had told the French, and so when the Italians rotated out and the French Rotated in, to what they thought was a Peaceful Sector, they were surprised when actual War broke out all around them. And of course the French, Moral Paragons one and all, absolutely refused to Pay for Peace… not when they could Kill for it.

Anyway, the International Consensus seemed to be that the Italians were not fighting fair, using money instead of mayhem.

Maybe it was because the word “bribery” had been used. You know, the American’s had done substantially the same thing in Iraq, only they did not call it ‘bribery’. There it was announced that General Patraeus “negotiated a settlement with the Sunni Insurgents whereby their militias would receive regular salaries and be issued weapons and ammunition in return for joining in the Fight against Al Qaeda”… all that said without using the word ‘bribery’ even once. But essentially it was the same thing… the Enemy was being paid off to go easy. And it worked! General Patraeus was hailed a huge Hero for practically winning the whole War single-handedly. They called his Strategy “The Surge”… but it was the surge of dollars into Enemy Pockets that turned everything around.

Oh, and it seems that it was more or less a personal agreement between General Patraeus and the Sunni Insurgents he had paid off. As soon as he left, taking his Promotion and moving on to Afghanistan, the Payments to the Sunnis entirely dried up. There were no official allocations or requisitions left in place. It all seems to have been done rather informally, as though General Patraeus had been taking the funds from Petty Cash or the Office Supply Budget. Of course, the Iraqi Government was free to renegotiate the Peace, picking up for themselves where General Patraeus had left off, but it is likely that the Shia Militants would rather keep the Money for themselves and go back to War with the Sunnis. They are, after all, Muslim. Besides, Iraq is a Democracy now. The Shia Politicians can’t very well announce that they are bribing Sunnis can they? So the Iraqi War will inevitably ratchet back up again.

Anyway, I have the feeling that the Italians in Afghanistan were just as careful about what they called their ‘bribes’ as General Patraeus was, but that the Media was not so kind to them as they were to the Americans. There are Perks in being the Last Remaining Superpower in the World. So the Media took the American Statement at face value, while they had no problem looking under the onion-skin of the Italian Statement to declare in outrage “But that is tantamount to Bribery!”

And this is why Democracies can’t fight Wars. Appeasing Public Opinion requires so much silliness. But what is needed in War must be practical and effective. What is practical and effective? Well, one offers significant rewards to those enemies who agree to cooperate – offering Jobs, Positions of Power, Social Respect and Status. But on the other hand there has to be a ruthless savagery delivered upon any Enemy who remains in the Field, to include entire Tribal Enclaves or even towns and villages that provide substantial logistical support for the Enemy. Remember, the Americans did not end their Civil War until Sherman burnt Atlanta and Lincoln assured the Plantation Owners that they could keep their Farms if not their Slaves. A Very Sweet Carrot or a Very Hard Stick. And Democracies are unwilling to do either one thing or the other. Look at the thanks Lincoln got.