杰瑞发布于2024-02-29
- So we're growing heroin instead.- Right.I think we're doing a pretty good job here, sir.You build infrastructure.Roads, schools, stuff like that.What kind of presence does the Taliban have here?- Who?- The Taliban.In short, you get off your bases and you go make friends with the people.Killing insurgents all the while, of course.Nation building. Hearts and minds.Hello! Hello, all.Let me break it down this way, General.We've been in Helmand province for five years now, and in all that time, all we've really managed to secure is this base.Now, you go out there, you go into Marjah, you go into Lashkar Gah, it's all Pashtun, as you know.This is the Taliban.We're not winning any hearts and minds there, I can tell you that.I'm not sure we ever will.Kandahar's the same, of course.Can I be completely frank with you, sir?If I was you, I'd cut Helmand loose.I'd concentrate on those parts of the country that are at least, in some way, sympathetic to the mission, and I'd cut it loose.It's a lost cause.This whole province constitutes just 4% of the population of the country.It's strategically meaningless.
