When I was deployed we were lucky to have some of the most advanced weapons in the world on our side. I had a machine gun that could shoot approximately 800 rounds per minute. On top of it I had an optical sight mechanism so that I could accurately shoot a target the size of a human being at 700 meters. I carried a thermal imaging sight that allowed me to see people through darkness, fog, smoke, or forests. We had the ability to use a GPS system to find the exact coordinates and have very large bombs dropped within 5 meters of the exact spot we needed it, provided there was no operator error. We had the most advanced aircraft and artillery systems in the world and were fighting a force that was armed with the most basic of weapons and resources, yet they managed to inflict some major damages to us.

Over the years I’ve often heard people wonder how this is possible. I’ve heard some people describe that culture as primitive, or behind the times, but in my experience, however you want to describe it, it doesn’t mean they’re stupid. The enemy that we were fighting then, and the fighters there today are far from stupid. In fact they are incredibly crafty and intelligent, and masters of using the resources and land around them to their advantage. That’s why these terrorist groups are able to stand up against large conventional armies and essentially outlast them. It happened to the Soviet’s in Afghanistan in the 80’s and of course again in Afghanistan and Iraq when we went there. And they also have fighters that have basically been mercenaries for their entire lives and are some of the most battle tested and experienced combat soldiers anywhere in the world which is a priceless asset on a battle field. And, they aren’t a conventional army that stands in front of you. They are able to show up and disappear into the background very quickly. And despite a lot of people’s wishes, you can’t just plain carpet bomb the entire area. Apparently some people are ok with killing thousands of innocent people just to kill a few bad ones, but I am definitely not. I think that history has definitely proven that trying to exterminate groups of people isn’t looked upon very kindly and has never solved any problems.

They managed to do a lot of damage with the weapons they had and figured out some very unique ways to create much more advanced and effective weapons out of very basic materials. Most of which were very effective. I have a fairly basic knowledge and understanding of explosives and how to effectively use them to destroy something, but the bad guys were incredibly adept at using common materials to make IED’s that could destroy any armored vehicle in the world. Every time we would adapt to their newest tactics they would change them. That is why they are so good at surviving. That’s also why I think that any attempts at solving the same problem using those same methods is doomed to fail.

I guess my point through all of this is that I’m really discouraged by people continuously saying that we need to go to Iraq to fix this problem. I think the mark of a smart person and a smart society is by learning from your mistakes and not repeating them, and right now it sounds like there are a lot of people who want to repeat them.