I'm sorry, but this just has to be said. I'm having one of my weaker and angrier days out here, and I'm fed up.

This hearts and minds, protect-civilian-causalities-at-all-costs crap is THE WORST idea warfare has ever seen, and for these reasons. 1) As i've stated before, the Afghan people live in their own little worlds. Their hearts and minds will NEVER be won by a foreign power. NEVER. The ones who do help us fight the Taliban are in it for their OWN PERSONAL REASONS, and not for the good of the country. 2) More soldiers die from it. Plain and simple. Since the new American General was put in charge, the death rate among soldiers has sky-rocketed. Why? "Hearts and minds" means driving out to every little hick ass Afghani town and handing out rice and shit. What does driving around everywhere mean? MORE FUCKING BOMBS. We're easy targets for the most simple and lethal device they have. 3) When shit does happen, we don't have the fucking assets to deal with the threat. If we get engaged by the enemy, and then they waltz into a village, we might as well just turn and run with our tails between our legs. If we see somebody planting a bomb, we practically have to get permission from Obama himself to get an airstrike on their asses. They plant the bomb, walk away, and then soldiers DIE trying to go out there and diffuse it. It happens all the time.

There's a difference between using caution and logic when engaging the enemy, and cutting off our assets all together. And that's exactly what has happened. It's bullshit and I'm sick of seeing bad people walk away unharmed and ready to kill my brothers because some commander doesn't want to get in trouble for only being 99% sure that they're bad guys.

Soldiers are SCARED TO DEATH to pull the trigger these days for fear of being charged with murder. It's unnatural and it gets us killed. God dammit