"frank" wrote in message
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On Aug 18, 8:12 am, "La N" wrote:
"Jack Linthicum" wrote in message

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On Aug 17, 11:55 pm, tankfixer wrote:
In article ,
says...

"La N" wrote in message
news:n7Vpk.7874$%b7.4500@edtnps82...

"William Black" wrote in message
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"La N" wrote in message
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"tankfixer" wrote in message

Our friend has been claiming it is policy.
A most absurd statement IMHO.

It is indeed an absurd statement.

So why are they still bombing weddings?

Are you suggesting that Americans bomb weddings because they don't
like
weddings? What are they getting out of bombing weddings besides bad
p.r.?

I'm saying they bomb weddings because they refuse to take note of the
culture of the people on their side that they're killing.

I'd say your wrong.
There are any number of training publications stressing the need to
understand the culture in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

See:
ENGAGING AFGHANISTAN?THE MULLAH CONNECTION
by: CHAPLAIN (COLONEL) KENNETH L. SAMPSON
U.S. Army War College
CARLISLE BARRACKS

TRADOC DCSINT HANDBOOK NO. 2

That's two of the 101 documents CALL listed under
Cultual awareness.

--
Meddle ye not in the Affairs of Dragons, for Thou art Crunchy and taste
Goode with Ketchup.

Have you ever been to one of those sessions? Third hand word says they
are time killers with no emphasis on paying attention or attendance.
Just mark in the book how many were there. "Cultual awareness" indeed

They may have handbooks, but obviously they're not well read.

Did someone just say "a few dozen" weddings have beem bombed????!!!!

- nilita

Yeah, me. There's enough showing up in the news that as a rough guess
its more than a handful. And whether its a wedding or a just friendly
tribal gathering of Omar and his buds, those clans have long
memories.

We joke about the Hatfields and McCoys, I remember a professor way
before Kosovo and all that, trying to beat into our American heads (he
was a ex Navy expert on the region) about how the Slavs thought. They
would dig up corpses and **** on them. And that's a civilized, Western
culture. Think about Afghanistan, and Kipling would feel at home
there, be amazed at the newfangled weapons and roads, but as far as
tribes, yeah, same as when he was there last time.

At least there is literature out there. 30 years ago there was
nothing, except if you were a linguist, but as far as how to deal with
the culture, the only thing was propaganda from the Saudis about how
much His Royal Highness was loved and he was upset again that somebody
in the US said something bad about him.

A local Lutheran is deploying with the troops and he noted in the
local paper he had a pile of reading to go through, in addition to all
the official military stuff. Ever been in the military, the higher up
you are the more stuff like this you get, some better than others. But
at least we're trying to get past the learning curve.

In any conflict like this, the best guys are the ones that go native.
But, that's not encouraged and there aren't enough people willing to
do it.

**********************

Yes, I've heard that about those who "go native".

And, btw, IIRC, is it practice to compensate the bereaved family members
financially - that is, on the part of the US?

- nilita