An Afghan official who spoke on condition of anonymity said that President Hamid Karzai’s government has personally sought the release of as many as 700 suspected Taliban fighters since July, including some mid-level leaders. U.S. Air Force Maj. Karen Davis, a spokeswoman in Kabul, said “nearly 500 detainees have been released outright or transferred to the Afghan government for disposition under Afghan law” so far this year. Davis added “nearly 200 of those 500 at Bagram base have been released” since July.
A marine stationed in southern Afghanistan said that efforts to detain insurgent fighters are “worthless.” Earlier this year, his unit held a man known to be working with the Taliban.
The Marines had gathered evidence that the man was transporting hundreds of pounds of bomb-making equipment and explosives for the Taliban. Less than two weeks later, the Marine saw the same Talibani walking through the market. “He recognized us. I wanted to shoot him right then and there. We got the guy, and yet there he was, walking around planning to kill again, and we couldn’t do a thing about it,” said the Marine.
How disheartening is this to soldiers fighting in Afghanistan. Already crippled by foolishly restrictive rules of engagement, they’re also witnessing the bad guys they do manage to catch released to fight again. The government of Afghanistan is corrupt. There is no unity in the provinces. I personally totally reject the “win their hearts and minds approach of General Petraeus.” War is war. There is only one thing that these people understand and that is violence. There is only one thing that will cause them to reconsider harbouring terrorists and that is fear for their own lives and that of their families’ lives. Right now they laugh at the US’s pathetic weakness, and exploit the mental irresolution of the armed forces command.
Afghan officials interviewed recently said- “Afghanistan is a corrupt mess populated by citizens who are far more comfortable thinking and acting locally and tribally than nationally,” one official said. “Karzai takes advantage of that for his own benefit,” he added. “The U.S. turns a blind eye because they don’t know how to stop it.”
I know how to stop it. Stop pussy footing around and kill the bastards.
TrueblueNZ 
The only purpose for fighting a war is to force the enemy to surrender unconditionally. The US should do to the the Taliban what it did to Japan in WW2, if it isn’t prepared to do that it is only wasting soldier’s lives and they should get out. But then the US has not fought a war detirmined to win since WW2 and the result is the mess that is North and South Korea and Vietnam. Afghanistan is heading in the same direction.
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