U.S. Marines conduct a vehicle sweep to ensure there are no hidden improvised explosive devices during a security patrol through the Nawa district in the Helmand province, Afghanistan, Oct. 28, 2009. U.S Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Artur Shvartsberg From AP:
FORWARD OPERATING BASE SHANK, Afghanistan — Veterans of Iraq recall rolling to war along asphalted highways, sweltering in flat scrublands and chatting with city-wise university graduates connected to the wider world.
Now fighting in Afghanistan, U.S. soldiers invariably encounter illiterate farmers who may never have talked to an American as they slog into remote villages on dirt tracks through bitterly cold, snow-streaked mountains.
My Comment: The Soviets made the same observations when they occupied Afghanistan in the 1980s. Their soldiers were prepared to fight tank battles on the plains of Europe .... but in Afghanistan their tanks were useless and their battle tactics totally inadequate to the terrain and culture of the region.
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