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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated
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To: Joe Btfsplk who wrote (209471)6/23/2007 6:17:10 PM
From: unclewest  Read Replies (2) of 794094
 
Message 23647232

Dear Oyster,
You need a new expert.

Your expert said: "Iraq is not Afghanistan - the two countries are very different. Afghanistan is mountainous and spread out with little concentration of people and where the fighting occurs in remote areas. Iraq population is much denser with fighters that no one can identify because they drift into and out of the population at will.

I will have to agree the countries are different. But the significant difference militarily speaking (other than distance from the sea) may be that they are spelled significantly different.

In rounded numbers -

Afghanistan's total population is 32 million vs Iraq's 27 million.

Afghanistan total area 650,000 square kilometers.
Iraq total area 450,000 square kilometers.

Afghanistan population 50 per square kilometer.
Iraq population 60 per square kilometer

Afghanistan has difficult mountains.
Iraq has difficult desert.

Iraq median income $250 annually.
Afghanistan median income $300 annually.

Iraq 97% Muslim
Afghanistan 99% Muslim.

Baghdad population 6 million
Kabul population 3 million

I see very little difference in these figures from a military point of view.

What is significant is:
1. We are getting the job done in Afghanistan (a larger country with 5 million more residents) with 15,000 - 20,000 US troops using classic US Special Forces counter-insurgency tactics.
2. We are not getting the job done in smaller Iraq with 155,000 US Troops using classic conventional tactics.
3. By comparison, we did not get a similar job done with 565,000 US troops in South Vietnam, a country with a population of 16 million at the time, where we also evolved into using conventional tactics..

In case you missed it. Yesterday I identified the most significant military difference between Iraq and Afghanistan.

Message 23644831

I stand by my previously stated conclusion. Petreaus has much to learn from the genuine unconventional counter-insurgency being conducted in Afghanistan.
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