What have we learned since 2001...

[Rossdobby]

I remember the morning of sept 11 2001 clearer then any other. It was my second week of grade six. The first person I saw when i arrived at school was my friend cody he told me what happened with such a calm voice that it didn't seem real. However after turning on the tv in our classroom we saw it just as the second plane hit live. I had just watched the movie pearl harbour a few days prior and the first thing that came to my 12 year old mind was world war 3.

Now almost exactly 8 years later we find ourselves (nato) in two major nation building/terroist fighting theatres of operation. The wars of before were largely determined by the size of your army and what you had but now we see the worlds sole super power stretched thin even with commitments from its allies. The ways of fighting wars has changed drastically and now wars can be ranged literally anywhere even the internet.

So my question to mp.net is

What have we learned from A-stan and Iraq?
What can we do to improve our war fighting and peacemaking abilities?
What do we do next?

[Shuimo]

Good questions you have!



What have we learned from A-stan and Iraq?
A new type of almost invincible war known as TERRORISM looms large over peace-loving peoples in the world!

Man has so far failed to find proper ways to conquer such scourges!


What can we do to improve our war fighting and peacemaking abilities?What do we do next?
We won't be able to win such wars unless we find out the real causes leading to the wars!:)

[Panchito12]

We won't be able to win such wars unless we find out the real causes leading to the wars!:)


WE? What "WE" are you referring to, kimosabe?

[Shuimo]

WE? What "WE" are you referring to, kimosabe?

All of us human beings!:)

[Steak-Sauce]

A new type of almost invincible war known as TERRORISM looms large over peace-loving peoples in the world!

Ehm, terrorism is by no means a "new type" in my opinion. Late 19th-century bomb-throwing anarchists in Paris come to my mind..

[Chulo]

Good questions you have!


A new type of almost invincible war known as TERRORISM looms large over peace-loving peoples in the world!

Man has so far failed to find proper ways to conquer such scourges!


We won't be able to win such wars unless we find out the real causes leading to the wars!:)


Ehm, terrorism is by no means a "new type" in my opinion. Late 19th-century bomb-throwing anarchists in Paris come to my mind..
yea, terrorism is no New thing.

anyway.. what is your definition of Terrorism Shuimo?

[[ KOOSHAB ]]

What have we learned from A-stan and Iraq?

Never start two large-scale occupations at once,
that and funding the opposition can bite you in the #$$ later on.

[Dragonscript]

What have we learned since 2001

That "Experts" are more plentiful than good ideas and it seems like they all think their opinions are better than everybody else. Like they say, opinions are like assholes....

[the_13th_redneck]

What have we learned....

a) If a country loses its infrastructure, it can actually beat the Americans as long as they drag the fight on long and keep it bloody enough.
b) Terrorism works.
c) US power projection has run out of batteries.

What needs to be done:
There's not much else anyone can do about the conflicts there now except continue with the current course but as for future conflicts...
a) More focus should be put into intelligence and less into blowing things up. You must be invisible yet everywhere.
b) Remember that real people live in these areas of conflict.