- cross-posted to:
- world@quokk.au
- cross-posted to:
- world@quokk.au
According to former United States general Ben Hodges, the withdrawal of US troops from Europe is only a matter of time. In an interview with SonntagsBlick, he advises Switzerland to prepare for war.
Counter insurgency is tough to overcome. As you kill insurgents, more insurgents pop up because the initially killed insurgents were their family and friends. The only way to do it is to rule with an iron fist.
I disagree that there is any way to do it. Ultimately, people don’t want you there and are unhappy enough that they’re willing to die rather than cooperate. It is simply too expensive in terms of man hours, lives, and money to keep a population under occupation like that. At the very least, you need to do as the colonial powers did and exploit a local division to deputize some of the locals to rule on your behalf.
The Mongolians did it. Rome did it. History is littered with countless examples of one nation overcoming another.