Churchill - no i didnt read something recently that sparked anything. I am not saying that the US went into Afghanistan alone. I am dutch, and we have had our guys in Uruzgan since the beginning, but that isnt the point. What I said was that the US didnt get the right support when going into the region. Sure they got NATO on board, which they had under article 5, and at no point dispute their entry into there, but what i am saying is the US should have gone in with the RIGHT partners. Which include those people that are IN the region and would actually be of great assistance such as Iran and Russia who both had legitimate reasons to help them. However during this period the US ignored these two vital partners and forced them into a coalition with each other who were more than happy to act as spoilers in the region for the US. Then Iraq, for which the US had little to no support. And then again Russia and Iran would have come in very handy as partners in the region, which Bush totally ignored. I am not saying that with them on board they would have won right away, but you cannot deny that it would have made the whole thing a lot easier. Iran and Russia are tough players who have the man power and weaponry (Russia more so) to completely overwhelm both regions with backing of the US.
Now please, I did not give any time frame claiming the whole thing would be over in weeks. My entire point was highlighting the laisse faire attitude the Bush administration had for the international community. Obama understands that wars are only won with the assistance of the RIGHT people. Germany was only defeated once america AND Russia got together and squashed Germany in the middle. Vietnam defeated the Americans because the Chinese and the Russians backed the Vietnamese communists and pushed them south. These are all parteners with proximity and resources.
AND as a final point I never said that Iran would be not anti-western, but there was a point in their history at the beginning of the 2000s that Iran was looking favourably towards the US becuase most the older men were killed in war and the majority of the population was born AFTER the revolution. Well Bush blew that chance by putting them in the “axis of evil” which might as well have been a HUGE middle finger and the US blew a good chance at normalizing relations with that state.
So please Churchill I am not blowing smoke or waxing optimism regarding Iran. All these figures you present about NATO allies and all that jazz is totally fine, but only goes to reinforce my point regarding the US’ misguided strategy for the region.
Churchill - no i didnt read something recently that sparked anything. I am not saying that the US went into Afghanistan alone. I am dutch, and we have had our guys in Uruzgan since the beginning, but that isnt the point. What I said was that the US didnt get the right support when going into the region. Sure they got NATO on board, which they had under article 5, and at no point dispute their entry into there, but what i am saying is the US should have gone in with the RIGHT partners. Which include those people that are IN the region and would actually be of great assistance such as Iran and Russia who both had legitimate reasons to help them. However during this period the US ignored these two vital partners and forced them into a coalition with each other who were more than happy to act as spoilers in the region for the US. Then Iraq, for which the US had little to no support. And then again Russia and Iran would have come in very handy as partners in the region, which Bush totally ignored. I am not saying that with them on board they would have won right away, but you cannot deny that it would have made the whole thing a lot easier. Iran and Russia are tough players who have the man power and weaponry (Russia more so) to completely overwhelm both regions with backing of the US. Now please, I did not give any time frame claiming the whole thing would be over in weeks. My entire point was highlighting the laisse faire attitude the Bush administration had for the international community. Obama understands that wars are only won with the assistance of the RIGHT people. Germany was only defeated once america AND Russia got together and squashed Germany in the middle. Vietnam defeated the Americans because the Chinese and the Russians backed the Vietnamese communists and pushed them south. These are all parteners with proximity and resources. AND as a final point I never said that Iran would be not anti-western, but there was a point in their history at the beginning of the 2000s that Iran was looking favourably towards the US becuase most the older men were killed in war and the majority of the population was born AFTER the revolution. Well Bush blew that chance by putting them in the “axis of evil” which might as well have been a HUGE middle finger and the US blew a good chance at normalizing relations with that state. So please Churchill I am not blowing smoke or waxing optimism regarding Iran. All these figures you present about NATO allies and all that jazz is totally fine, but only goes to reinforce my point regarding the US’ misguided strategy for the region.