Quote Originally Posted by JMA View Post
Is it true what they say that the US have more lawyers in Afghanistan than helicopters?
...I'm not ready to laugh about it yet

(though for all my frustrations on this topic with said legad, over all she did a tremendous job and was a great lady (also a good inch taller than me and a trained boxer, so I was always sure to either mind my manners or at least pay attention to if I had room to take a quick step back or not)).

The fact is that the law is a mess for these things, and she was merely representing that mess.

Another example, I got into a discussion on my belief that we were better served by employing legal terms, such as "reasonable suspicion" and "probable cause" to drive engagements over the current vague "Positive ID" that is leading to so many inappropriate engagements under the current ROE and Tactical Directives. "Impossible" "That would imply law enforcement rather than war, and while we are authorized to wage war in Afghanistan, we are not authorized to conduct law enforcement." "We would have to leave if this were a law enforcement matter."


Really??? Perhaps that is something we should seriously consider. I am resolved that insurgency is a civil emergency and should be addressed as such, with local civil authorities in clear lead, and any military involvement being brought in under the same auspices that we do for any other MSCA event. HN military first, and any foreign military behind and subordinate to that of the HN.

"Sorry, we'd really like to stay and help you with this mess, but the only proper way to do that is illegal, so we'll be going now..."