I think they are called "advisors" because it is not politically
expedient to call them what they really are, which is "combatants".
It's kind of a back door way to get your guys on the ground without
actually admiting to what you are doing.

Maybe an analogy would be useful he

Say you are the nation of Current Designs (paddling-related content
here), and you are being attacked by the nation of Necky. The nation
of Sawyer is providing "advisors", who are helping the combatants of
Necky. Maybe they are providing advice, maybe they are providing arms
and supplies, and just maybe every once in a while one of them pulls a
trigger, even though he's "not supposed to". Are you going to feel
any particular debt to the Sawyerites? After all, they're only
providing advisors.

On 13 May 2004 10:08:53 GMT, ospam (Larry Cable)
wrote:

Pete, we have provided arms and advisors to many an ally that we didn't control
thier political or command structure, that's why they are called advisors. Some
that get supported are strictly politically expediate, think Stalin, and some
are long term relationships. Should we take responsiblity for the slaughter of
Polish Army Officers by Stalin because we supported him when he entered the war
with Hitler?


Yeah, it sure is a hairy position. The folks you're advising are
sometimes ungrateful enough to use the expertise they gained from you,
against you. That's if the pols don't feed you to the wolves to save
their own hides. I'm kind of confused: were we or were we not
involved in Laos back in the 60's, for example?

The Advisors are often in a pretty hairy position. They are often supporting
groups that don't particularly like the US, but want the technical and tactical
support that we can provide. Afganistan is a perfect example of this type of
situation.


SYOTR
Larry C.