Afghanistan War Game Tested a 44,000-Troop Increase

[laststeamtrain]

Afghanistan War Game Tested a 44,000-Troop Increase

By Spencer Ackerman 10/26/09 8:56 AM

One more thing from that Washington Post report about the Afghanistan war game. It appears we have numbers for gauging a prospective troop increase for a counterinsurgency-based escalation, as well as numbers for a Biden-esque alternative:

"The exercise, led by Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, examined the likely outcome of inserting 44,000 more troops into the country to conduct a full-scale counterinsurgency effort aimed at building a stable Afghan government that can control most of the country. It also examined adding 10,000 to 15,000 more soldiers and Marines as part of an approach that the military has dubbed “counterterrorism plus.” "

A war game doesn’t guarantee anything. But they wouldn’t have picked those numbers out of nowhere, so they probably derive in some form from Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s palette of options. ,,,
http://washingtonindependent.com/65082/afghanistan-war-game-tested-a-44000-troop-increase

[SIMPLYB1980]

1. Got to get them ready for the push.

Glad they are preparing this time.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

2. Stable Afghan government = Oxymoron

Democracy in Afghanistan, US puppet A vs US puppet B.

[SIMPLYB1980]

3. Getting worried your pacifists stance is going to lose?

:shrug:

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

4. Nope. History is on our side.

See the history of Afghanistan, Iraq, and Vietnam to get a clue. You might also, check out, the history of the Roman and British Empires to see the outcome of what happens to empires that were never going to fall.

[SIMPLYB1980]

8. Since when has pacifism been shown to work?

Terrorists deserve to die and I don't have a problem with our troops being their death dealers.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

9. What do you mean by "work"?

Pacifism works for the vast majority of the people on the planet, day after day, year after year, century after century. Whereas, war has never "worked" for anyone. Unless you're in the business of counting corpses, or weapons production, or monument building.

Most of the people on the planet, today, have never experienced war and do just fine without it. Whereas, those that have experienced, or are experiencing it, aren't doing so hot.

It is highly overrated as a pastime. Unfortunately, politicians and generals are fond of it as such.

[SIMPLYB1980]

10. Well when someone is rapping your mother I hope you

stand there and watch it happen and don't you dare do one damn thing to stop it.

[laststeamtrain]

11. If someone is wrapping your mummy it could be because they're ancient Egyptians. n/t.

[laststeamtrain]

5. I don't have a pacifist stance. I don't know what you're talking about. Do you? n/t.

[SIMPLYB1980]

7. I don't know your stance I was responding to

Tierra_y_Libertad

[FarCenter]

6. And the result was????

[sakabatou]

12. Here's the result

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu_moia-oVI