The USA should repeal the rules of engagement about Afghanistan in the Obama doctrine

All life is important. The lives of the people of the country we occupy are extremely important. If Afghans do not want US troops there because they feel that we are no better than Taliban or the Soviets before them then we will lose in Afghanistan and the sacrifices of US servicemen will have been in vain. Nothing will be worse for that the Afghan My Lai. We are not at war, but I am not going to get into a semantic debate about the lack of uses of declarations of war or that you can not actually be at war with an insurgency. I do not advocate by any means necessary, we will not win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people by carpet bombing Helmand province. Desert Storm is a horrible example. The objective in Desert Storm was to drive the Iraqi Army out of Kuwait. I was an easy matter to identify the Iraqi forces; they were wearing Iraqi uniforms and using Iraqi equipment. Kuwaiti civilians were similarly easy to identify they we welcoming their liberation but U. N Coalition Forces. The US was not conducting what amounts to an occupation of a less than cooperative population for a protracted period of time that included country building. Operation Desert Storm lasted from 17Jan91 through 11Apr91 with ground combat lasting 100hrs. Actually, the ROE for Desert Storm were: ALL ENEMY MILITARY PERSONNEL AND VEHICLES TRANSPORTING THE ENEMY OR THEIR SUPPLIES MAY BE ENGAGED SUBJECT TO THE FOLLOWING RESTRICTIONS: A. Do not engage anyone who has surrendered, is out of battle due to sickness or wounds, is shipwrecked, or is an aircrew member descending by parachute from a disabled aircraft. B. Avoid harming civilians unless necessary to save US lives. Do not fire into civilian populated areas or buildings which are not defended or being used for military purposes. C. Hospitals, churches, shrines, schools, museums, national monuments, and any other historical or cultural sites will not be engaged except in self-defense. D. Hospitals will be given special protection. Do not engage hospitals unless the enemy uses the hospital to commit acts harmful to US forces, and then only after giving a warning and allowing a reasonable time to expire before engaging, if the tactical situation permits. E. Booby traps may be used to protect friendly positions or to impede the progress of enemy forces. They may not be used on civilian personal property. They will be recovered or destroyed when the military necessity for their use no longer exists. F. Looting and the taking of war trophies are prohibited. G. Avoid harming civilian property unless necessary to save US lives. Do not attack traditional civilian objects, such as houses, unless they are being used by the enemy for military purposes and neutralization assists in mission accomplishment. H. Treat all civilians and their property with respect and dignity. Before using privately owned property, check to see if publicly owned property can substitute. No requisitioning of civilian property, including vehicles, without permission of a company level commander and without giving a receipt. If an ordering officer can contract the property, then do not requisition it. I. Treat all prisoners humanely and with respect and dignity. J. ROE Annex to the OPLAN provides more detail. Conflicts between this card and the OPLAN should be resolved in favor of the OPLAN. REMEMBER 1. FIGHT ONLY COMBATANTS. 2. ATTACK ONLY MILITARY TARGETS. 3. SPARE CIVILIAN PERSONS AND OBJECTS. 4 RESTRICT DESTRUCTION TO WHAT YOUR MISSION REQUIRES. By your own admission these ROE worked in "91,and should be used in Afghanistan. "I would suggest, like I said, we send our troops in to kill the enemy by any means. " Shoot first and damn the poor afghan civilian that happened to get caught in the crossfire? You do not win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people by killing civilians, even if it was an accident. Operation Provide Comfort, March "91 - 31Dec96, succeeded desert Storm. The ROE for Operation Provide Comfort were as follows: 1. All military operations will be conducted in accordance with the laws of war. 2. The use of armed force will be utilized as a measure of last resort only. 3. Nothing in these rules negates or otherwise overrides a commander's obligation to take all necessary and appropriate actions for his unit's self-defense. 4. US forces will not fire unless fired upon unless there is clear evidence of hostile intent. Hostile Intent - The threat of imminent use of force by an Iraqi force or other foreign force, terrorist group, or individuals against the United States, US forces, US citizens, or Kurdish or other refugees located above the 38th parallel or otherwise located within a US or allied safe haven refugee area. When the on-scene commander determines, based on convincing evidence, that hostile intent is present, the right exists to use proportional force to deter or neutralize the threat. Hostile Act - Includes armed force directly to preclude or impede the missions and/or duties of US or allied forces. 5. Response to hostile fire directly threatening US or allied care shall be rapid and directed at the source of hostile fire using only the force necessary to eliminate the threat. Other foreign forces as (such as reconnaissance aircraft) that have shown an active integration with the attacking force may be engaged. Use the minimum amount of force necessary to control the situation. 6. You may fire into Iraqi territory in response to hostile fire. 7. You may fire into another nation's territory in response to hostile fire only if the cognizant government is unable or unwilling to stop that force's hostile acts effectively or promptly. 8. Surface-to-air missiles will engage hostile aircraft flying north of the 36th parallel. 9. Surface-to-air missiles will engage hostile aircraft south of the 36th parallel only when they demonstrate hostile intent or commit hostile acts. Except in cases of self-defense, authorization for such engagements rests with the designated air defense commander. Warning bursts may be fired ahead of foreign aircraft to deter hostile acts. 10. In the event US forces are attacked or threatened by unarmed hostile elements, mobs, or rioters, the responsibility for the protection of US forces rests with the US commanding officer. The on-scene commander will employ the following measures to overcome the threat: 1. Warning to demonstrators. 2. Show of force, including the use of riot control formations. 3. Warning shots fired over the heads of hostile elements. 4. Other reasonable use of force necessary under the circumstances and proportional to the threat. 11. Use the following guidelines when applying these rules: 1. Use of force only to protect lives. 2. Use of minimum force necessary. 3. Pursuit will not be taken to retaliate; however, immediate pursuit may begin and continue for as long as there is an immediate threat to US forces. In the absence of JCS approval, US forces should not pursue any hostile force into another nation's territory. If necessary and proportional, use all available weapons to deter, neutralize, or destroy the threat as required. Vietnam War how? In the way that the Afghan was has be a prolonged, longer than Vietnam, occupation to democratized Americanize a hostile populace that has spent countless generation under foreign rule or puppeteered by foreigners? Is it like the same fashion that the guerilla fighters of both wars used the civilian population as shields and hiding places? The fact is the only way to guarantee the lives of US forces is to withdraw them from Afghanistan and let them crew themselves to hell. We started this in 2001 now we have an obligation to see this through to a positive end. This means winning the hearts and minds of the Afghans, which means RESTRANT IN THE USE OF FORCE.