We Cannot Shake & Bake Foreign Soldiers

---American soldiers are the best in the world; they are well-trained and equipped, and they are standup men and women.  We tend to train and equip foreign forces fighting alongside our troops, but we do not really test them on the battlefield.  We count their troops in a total number when only a fraction is battle-ready. 

We will send American troops to other countries in the future, and we will again train local forces to prop democratic governments.  We cannot allow all democracies in the world to be overrun by totalitarian forces, and China will continue to pursue the creation of a Chinese-dominated totalitarian world government.  Nevertheless, future American military interventions need to establish two basic principles.  First, the nation that we go to defend must draft all available men to be trained and equipped for battle, and the created indigenous military force must relentlessly pursue and destroy its enemy, albeit with American air power and general support.  Second, we should never allow American troops to fight in a war against an enemy that hides in a sanctuary.  It is never a winning strategy, and it should never be allowed.

 In the Vietnam War, we created a South Vietnamese military of over a million men, but we never had them confront the North Vietnamese Army head-on.  Yes, they had their major battles, but they never tried to close the Ho Chi Minh Trail.  Thus, men and supplies continued to pour down the jungle routes through Laos and Cambodia. The political uproar arising from crossing into Cambodia and Laos to destroy enemy sanctuaries would have been managed.  A nation that allows the creation of a sanctuary for our enemy in a war must be prepared to have our allied forces occupy the same real estate in self-defense.

 We pursued the same foolhardy approach in the 20-year war in Afghanistan.  We created an Afghan force of 300,000 men, trained and equipped by us, but it was not used to expel the Taliban from its territory.  Yes, they also had their major battles, but the Taliban occupied major parts of the country and enjoyed a sanctuary in Pakistan throughout the war.  We should have used the Afghan army to both relentlessly attack Taliban forces inside their country and to conduct raids into their sanctuaries in Pakistan.  We would have had a more accurate count of real soldiers in the Afghan army.  American logistical support and air power would have made the difference if, once in the war theatre, it would have been used to its full capacity.

After we create an indigenous fighting force in a protected country, and they face and defeat their enemy head-on, albeit with American air power and support, we can begin our orderly withdrawal.

The real questions are, why did the U.S. allow the South Vietnamese army to allow the existence of the Ho Chi Minh Trail? And why did the U.S. allow the Afghan army to allow the occupation of part of its territory by the Taliban?  Our shake-and-bake foreign armies will always postpone the final battle for tomorrow if we allow it, and the result will always be predictable.  

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