But then, I see it much like Vietnam: The right war fought the wrong way, a manner not only so inept, but so corrupt and insensitive (when not outright brutal) to the local populace that it becomes counterproductive even while we prate of "winning the hearts and minds. " If we wanted to win hearts and minds then or now we'd focus less on Americas political, strategic and industrial interests and more on the best interests of the people living in the countries we invaded (and, of course, we wouldn't have invaded Iraq at all, which would've made getting rid of Al Qaeda while most of its command structure was conveniently in one place a lot easier. )

The sad and scary thing is winning the hearts and minds really is the only way to beat an insurgency. Otherwise I guarantee they'll be able to breed a new generation of guerrillas wanting payback for the father they never knew in far greater numbers than we can ship a volunteer army to their bombed out hovel. But, hey, you're British, I'm American; like I need to tell you this....