Reply #4: Thanks for your excellent post, JC. The scenes you describe

[vickitulsa]

seeing on PBS could have easily been taken directly from Vietnam during American presence there, with Asian faces instead of Arabic ones for the locals.

I remember all too well how the behavior of our troops in Vietnam evolved after several years incountry to become like what you saw in the PBS program. I think the situation in both Afghanistan and Iraq reflects the frustration, indeed the exasperation, of soldiers who know their sacrifices are accomplishing nothing good or substantial.

Your conclusions were spot-on, too, regarding winning the hearts and minds of the people in these countries.

Also the article you excerpted and linked to was excellent ... I hope many people read it!