How do you do cleave the two, though? You can't do it geographically; Afghanistan and Pakistan don't exist in separate bubbles and you face village and nomadic networks that cross minimally scores of thousands of square miles. You can't do it ethnically; there's no clear line of delineation between the FATA Pashtun and those in Afghanistan, and AQ apparently feels comfortable co-existing with both. You can't do it religiously; AQ's Islamists and the Deobandis are natural allies if not co-religionists. You're increasingly unable to do it linguistically.Originally Posted by Entropy
The physical and human terrain is rough, rugged, noisy and uneven. The Coalition doesn't have the convenience of fighting an enemy who concentrates, respects national borders or even declares his own territory. In many ways, you can say the bulk of the landscape is uncharted, if not currently unchartable given how sparsely and fluidly the enemy chooses to base himself. If defeating AQ and their diehard support requires you deal with hundreds of spatter pools individually, what can you possibly do except throw enough force to soak up the mess?
Bookmarks