War, Will, and Warlords Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan and Pakistan, 2001-2011.

摘要

To paraphrase the Winston Churchill quote above, the Pashtuns combine the ferocity of the Zulu, the craftsmanship of the Native American, and the marksmanship of the Boer. These comparisons evoke a vivid idea of the resilience engendered in those 40-million Pashtun tribal people who populate both sides of the Durand Line. The second quote pertains to the heavy costs that armies pay in blood and treasure when they are not prepared for the wars they undertake. The Soviet armed forces paid for their experience in blood during the nine years and 50 days they fought in Afghanistan. On Christmas Eve 1979, Soviet forces conducted a conventional assault on Kabul and other key points in Afghanistan with the dual aim of implanting a stable Soviet-friendly government and quelling an insurrection. The last Soviet forces withdrew on 15 February 1989 after suffering nearly 14,000 killed, leaving behind a precarious pro-Soviet government and an ongoing civil war. In Afghanistan, the great and powerful Soviet Union failed to win a small irregular war. The first U.S. forces entered Afghanistan on 7 October 2001, and the United States and its Coalition partners have been fighting there for over 10 years since October 2011, also paying dearly for their experience with blood and money. History is an ironic and ruthless mentor.