Let's Not Kid Ourselves: Afghanistan Is Not Iraq
David Ignatius, The Washington Post | May 14, 2009
Gen. Petraeus faces a tougher fight in Afghanistan then Iraq in applying his counterinsurgency tactics; to first hit the insurgency hard to then strip away the moderates.++ His asset of strong diplomatic support to enable a regional approach, is upset by two current difficulties: instable Pakistan, crucial to military success, is sceptical of cooperation, and there remains a lack of good-enough intelligence to drive an Afghan strategy of local reconciliation.++ Afghanistan is bigger, poorer, tougher than Iraq and will remain a bitter challenge.
