The fog of war", like so many militarisms, goes back to Clausewitz. Reflecting on 20 years' fighting in Napoleonic Europe – from the great campaigns and field battles to the proto-guerrilla-war in Spain – the Prussian strategist wrote: "The great uncertainty of all information in war is a peculiar difficulty, because all action must, to a certain extent, be planned in a mere twilight, which not infrequently – like the effect of fog or moonshine – gives to things exaggerated dimensions and unnatural appearance."
The sudden surge in casualties and the want of helicopters, reminiscent of the "shell scandal" of 1915 when the shortage of munitions on the Western Front brought down the Liberal government, may indeed be giving to Afghanistan "exaggerated dimensions and unnatural appearance". What is Operation Panther's Claw trying to achieve? And why is there such military restlessness?
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