I’m going to push back a little bit on this Bill.
To a man, everyone I’ve talked with (family members, business colleagues, and clients) who served in either Afghanistan or Iraq said that the ROE (rules of engagement) were so onerous, that a military victory could never be won, and that they we’re fighting with two hands tied behind their back.
They also said, that had the politicians taken the gloves off, that both wars could have been been over in less than two years. I’m happy to share their stories with you privately. But boiling it down, I’ll quote one soldier who said “the flaming hoops they had to jump through to kill the enemy were insane. As were the penalties if you didn’t obey the insane rules or messed up by causing human collateral damage, property damage, or shot someone who was unarmed. He said they’d watch the enemy installing IED’s - but couldn’t shoot them unless they were armed. So the enemy knew that, and had free reign to plant them. They’d have to call in the location and hope the ordinance disposal guys got there before an American or Civilian activated the device. If you did shoot the IED installers, you’d be brought up on charges. I probably have at least 25-30 more stories just like these.