Tactics Used In Afghanistan Illustrate U.S. Failed To Learn From Iraq

Afghanistan is larger, less hospitable, more populous and proportionally more expensive and deadly for U.S. troops. That's what makes the United States' attempt to use our favorite foreign policy strategy--counterinsurgency--so dangerous in Afghanistan with far, far fewer troops than we have in Iraq, even considering an escalation. We did it poorly in Iraq and were "saved," in terms of U.S. domestic debate, by ethnic cleansing that caused a precipitous drop in violence (which tends to happen when everyone is dead). But that hasn't stopped the U.S. military from claiming that an escalation in Afghanistan would be an application of "lessons learned in Iraq" to Afghanistan.

But an examination of the tactics used in Afghanistan flatly disproves any claims by the U.S. to have learned from mistakes in Iraq.

Continue reading here.

Comments

[loki]

wonder if this will be band in the us like the others that have come out in the last few years. We get to hear of them, and then cant see them. Same with books. They get blacklisted if not ok'ed by the authorities. Just like good old USSR did.

[MrXfromplanetX]

Another really good film on the US occupation of Afghanistan is John Pilger's Breaking the Silence.

This is why I don't support Obama sending more troops into Afghanistan because we are being told Al Qaeda is back.

What the US Government put in power is every bit as bad as Al Qaeda, so it is observed to go in and defend these war lords. People need to understand we are not going in to put anything better in power. Aside from defeating Hitler, we never have.

http://mrxfromplanetx.com/breaking-the-silence-by-john-pilger

[gschear]

"When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains, and the women come out to cut up what remains, jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains and go to your gawd like a soldier. "
Kipling

"So it goes"
Vonnegut

"Stupid is as stupid does"
Forrest Gumps Mama

"Stay out of the draft, you'll catch your death!"
My Mama

[WWWexler]

Learn from Iraq???

WTF?

What about learning from the RUSSIANS, who tried to subdue Afghanistan from across the street, not across the world, and were unable to do so?

Oh, that's right, Obama says we should do it, so it must be so.

-Wexler

[reelcobra]

Great that HuffPo sanctioned "writing" still tries to claim we lost the Iraq war.

Viva!

[gschear]

Show me that we have won the Iraq war. The minute we leave Iraq will revert to what it was or worse. In this region we have a snake problem. (Iran) All we have done is to immediately snatch up our mongoose and wring it's neck. That'll sure show that snake!

[truthbrigade]

Wait for the disaster coming at you when the US starts moving out of the cities and into Fort Apache concentration camps. This is what the shrub signed on early this month. Did the US learn ANYTHING from the Russians in Afghanistan, or Vietnam? No --- why, because it"s the US!!!

[lungfish]

actually, with up to a million civilian dead and a smashed infrastructure and factions even more polarized, its pretty clear who lost the Iraqi war. The Iraqis.
As for America, we have spent over a trillion dollars of money we borrowed from China for these wars, and are considered a rogue nation by much of the rest of the world....
Must be pretty surreal out there in 20% land...

[FrozenNorthObserver]

winners don't have to pay the "bad guys? not to shoot them.

[QueenOfViolets]

The best book for understanding Afghanistan is "The Tragedy of Afghanistan" by Pakistani journalist Raja Anwar.

This book goes into excruciating detail about how the Afghan Communists failed to modernize the country after they deposed the King in a bloodless coup in 1973.

These details are important because they reveal why Afghan attempts at central government have so far been doomed to failure.

We have to put down our Cold War blinders and look at why the Communists failed to reform the country, because we're failing for a lot of the same reasons.

[kellygrrrl]

the era of anti-intellectualism in America is over. I believe we just elected someone is adamant about learning lessons and not repeating mistakes.

[kellygrrrl]

but is our children learnin'

[Whinger]

They, the USA and others, failed to learn from World War II and onwards!

This is the consecquence when politicians start wars and run wars, they never learn!

[InLosAngeles]

I agree that lessons learned are often forgot. However in your opinion of course, who should start them and who should run them?

[djgonebad]

The CIA's cash crop must be worth it!!

[CaptainStormfield]

Im glad someone threw that in.

[watchingthings]

Bottom line on Afganistan.......get out on your own while you still can. Using many of the same tactics Russia did is not going to change the outcome anymore now then it did for Russia.

[TruthAndTheory]

Our fearless leader george bush is incapable of learning or understanding. Therein lies the problem.

[kellygrrrl]

and he has convinced his "base" that learnin' is bad

[Erdgeist]

The U.S. military has a penchant for learning its lessons almost always too late. In both Korea and Vietnam this was very evident. Unfortunately we never learn from history: that ideologues, politicians, and warmongers make, by far, the worst generals.

[tbone99]

The U.S. seems incapable of learning . Their need to dominate is so egotistical and overblown they are destined to repeat the same mistakes over and over.

[JZ735]

The USSR brought in more troops too...what happened there?