"David E. Powell" wrote in message
...

Agreed. In Fallujah the USMC basically said a few weeks before
everything kicked out "Dear civilians, please leave now because when
stuff goes down it is going large." Here they are tring to operate
with the civilians in place which makes things quite a bit trickier.


Now today the Af\ghan military said the twelve civilians killed in
Marjah were hostages held in a house also being used
to attack US troops.

We may see a lot more of that, where the Taliban use human shields
and retreat into civilian areas hoping we'll kill as many civilians as
possible. It's the only way they can win, if the Afghan govt calls
off the offensive from too many civilian deaths. Given Karzai's past
that tactic could work.


However, as you say, this is important to the Taliban so perhaps it
gives the chance to really draw them in and make it a battle on our
terms. Use resources, people etc. to draw them and cut them off, then
beat them up, with the goal of taking and holding routes in and out
and taking their resource from them.

I think Islamic extremism is mostly funded by Iran and the heroin trade.
Let them escape to Pakistsan, it's hard to grow much poppy in the
mountains. And the Iranians are running on empty these days.
If democracy takes hold in Pakistan and Iraq, that lawless region
can't hold out for long anyway.