Eight Years in Afghanistan, the 'Graveyard of Empires'

Will our "staying the course" in Afghanistan lead us into the same situation that defeated Russia and Britain? Insurgent guerilla warfare thrives under all conditions. As Israel's experience has shown, collateral deaths in Gaza and Lebanon, are transformed into an insurgent propaganda victory. Withdrawl is interpreted as an insurgent victory.

In America's history, George Washington achieved final victory simply by retreating and surviving for the years leading up to Yorktown. Our victory is attributed to Washington's survival, British Commander Clinton's foolishly dividing his forces and the French fleet blocking Cornwallis' only route of withdrawl. It could be that the American Revolution set the pattern for modern wars of insurgency! With regard to winning hearts and minds of British colonists in America, the propoganda war was won toward the Revolution via British empire asserting authority over subjects as though they were a conquered people rather than a conquering, colonizing group of British citizens, whose rights had been established since the Magna Carta!
From what we found in Historical Williamsburg, British persecution in Boston was provoked by the unilateral destruction of private property at the Boston Tea Party. Other colonies had refused the tax on tea, simply by locking imported tea safely in warehouses or refusing to allow them onshore! In a sense the Sons of Liberty had provoked a British response which won the hearts and minds of other American colonists.


The recent success of President Bush's surge in Iraq may have in large part been due to Al Queda being viewed by Iraqi tribal leaders as an external threat to their traditional leadership! The presence of our overwhelming force could gain traction ONLY AFTER the Iraqi tribal chiefs were won over through appealing to their indiginous tribal narrative. Al Queda's exogenous authority proved to be the offense that rallied Iraqi tribal chiefs to align with our efforts. Once Al Queda is subdued, we again regain the position of being the invader.

Rome faced a similar dilemma as an empire in their attempt to subdue Judea, a theocratically oriented land of little intrinsic worth other than being a global crossroad for trade routes linking three continents. Initially following a governance of tolerance and installing Herodians as non-Roman puppets of civil rule, Rome by 135AD had imposed its "final solution" upon Judea. Despite destruction of the Temple and civil capital of Judea in 70 AD, the insurgency of Simon Bar Kochba was the final straw for Emporor Hadrian.

Supernaturally, our global difficulties, dilemmas and failures are an Eye to Eye consequence of our pressing Israel to accomodate the two state Palestinian mythology while allowing Iran to pursue its nuclear ambitions, no matter who has been occupying the Oval Office. We are enduring the curse clause of Genesis 12:3.
The only effective countermeasures to a theologically based insurgency is the adoption of a different theology or aligning local narrative. Where religion is bound tightly to tribal and family identity, this is not a task that can be attained through natural means.