Stardate 20011016.0440 (On Screen): There are news reports that there is an active recruitment campaign going on in Pakistan among Afghan refugees to try to get as many volunteers as possible to go back into Afghanistan to fight in case the US actually puts combat forces on the ground there. They claim to have already recruited 5000. I'm not too concerned about this. First, it's easy to volunteer; but when it really comes down to it, a lot of these men may end up being no-shows. Second is that when the time finally comes, it may not be easy for them to move to anywhere in Afghanistan which could be of any actual tactical use to the Taliban, partly because of our control of the air and partly because it may happen in winter. Our special forces and our 10th Mountain Division are trained and equipped to move and fight in winter conditions. Third and most important, an untrained rabble like this is almost useless in modern warfare. (This ain't the French Revolution,
levée en masse is another term for "cannon fodder".)
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