Because "half-hearted" is the right way to fight a war
The Obama administration is trying awfully hard to "define" its was out of its Afghanistan troubles. First, they've been trying to redefine the war, so they can say they aren't trying to fight the Taliban (presumably so they can give up without saying they've given up) and now, under pressure to send more troops to Afghanistan, and with the commanding general saying "we need 40,000 more troops" the Obama Regime is trying to wriggle and squirm its way out of this one too, by claiming that it's actually sent "13,000 additional troops". Of course, they are all "support troops" ... what actual fighting soldiers call REMFs. (Snake, please correct me if I'm wrong about this one!)
Yep ... all those cooks, medics, and logistics officers are sure going to scare the s**t out of the Taliban.
I've never actually heard anyone use the term "REMF". The one you mostly hear is POG (for People Other than Grunts, pronounced "pogue"). It's not particularly a term of derision, just a convenient shorthand. Of course, under the Status of Forces Agreement here in Iraq, everyone's POGs now, and some of us support personnel are the some of the only ones who still have real jobs to do.
As for Afghanistan, I don't really know what the makeup is of the units that have been sent over there, but it doesn't particularly matter. Cooks and medics and logistics people can stand guard, run convoys and do patrols, too, freeing up the doorkickers to, you know, do their thing. And if they are going to send more ground-pounders, there's a certain amount of support that has to be in place beforehand, especially in a place where the supply lines are as tenuous as they already are in Afghanistan.
Of course, my opinion on Afghanistan comes with the caveat that it's not really "my" war the way Iraq has become, and it's one I've become considerably more equivocal about. At the very least, I want to hear someone lay out a sober, realistic assessment of what we expect to achieve there. We've already removed the Taliban from power, but a Taliban-ish militia is so closely tied to Pashtun culture that talk of wiping it out sounds just a bit genocide-y. I get the sinking feeling that we'd be in a better position if we had just handed that place to the least-wild-eyed warlord we could find about six years ago and wished them the best. Here's hoping they prove me wrong.
Comment by Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake — October 18, 2009 @ 4:13 am
Now that's why I love the internet. There's always someone out there who really knows what's what in any given situation. Thanks for the informed commentary and correcting my mistakes. I must admit, I got REMF from reading a Ringo novel (Last Centurion).
Interesting to hear your views on Afghanistan. I check your blog periodically to see if you've written anything. I'll look forward to an update, whenever you can manage it.
Comment by Filthy Stinking No.9 — October 18, 2009 @ 5:34 am