Comparing the differences between America's two war zones as casualties in Afghanistan spike.
(SALEM, Ore.) - Afghanistan and Iraq are disctincly different places, yet they have plenty in common in the minds of American families. Every emotion in the universe can be attached to the wars our men and women are currently fighting.
U.S. flag at Camp Joyce; forward operating base inAfghanistan named for a Marinewho was killed there.The deaths of five U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan and one in Iraq in recent days, remind us that the cost of our military mission is steep. If allied forces can find eventual success in Afghanistan, then there would be a measurable accomplishment for the sacrifice of the last several years; something our veterans deserve, let alone the people of this war torn country.
Soldiers serving in Afghanistan in 2006 and 2007, told me that they were undermanned and under equipped. The missions I went on during the two months I covered the war, were reached in HUMVEE and 5-ton truck convoys- constantly exposed to the threat of improvised explosive devices or IED's.
In Iraq last summer, almost every ride I took was in an airplane or a helicopter. Air operations in Iraq are constant; literally going around the clock. Patrols with HUMVEE's and the newer MRAP vehicles are always taking place, but they generally go out and come back after several hours on the same day.
Afghanistan air operations are more limited because there are far fewer aircraft. It is also a more challenging aviation environment; Afghanistan is a high elevation country and this demands more from aircraft engines.
Lead HUMVEE in an Afghanmountain convoy arriving at a base
When it comes to climate and terrain, there are huge, notable differences between these two places. Many parts of Afghanistan are freezing cold in the winter, whereas Iraq is mildly cold in the winter. Both countries can get extremely hot during the summer, depending on where you are. Interestingly, the worst place of all to be in extreme heat is Kuwait.
Afghan Escalations
As the conflict in Iraq winds down and efforts to wage the war in Afghanistan intensify, we will see an escalation in casualties in this faraway place that has never been dominated by any foreign nation for very long.
Based on what I saw in Afghanistan, the only way to win the hearts and minds is to help people achieve their basic needs. Afghans are desperate for medical care, food, clean water and heat.
The river in Kabul trickles in bubbling shades of brown. Parts of this city once grand have taken a tremendous beating.
Ruins: Kabul Military Training Ctr.
Palaces were crumbled, factories were decimated, and Taliban military facilities, buildings constructed by the Soviets during their occupation that began in 1979, were smashed by U.S. Air Force bombs.
Now the war in Afghanistan is really heating up again. The Anti-Coalition Militias including the Taliban are growing in number and have resources and advantages. Helmand Province is largely under Taliban control, and Kandahar, which is the traditional home of some of these fighters.
Even in Kabul, problems are on the rise and parts of the city are not under Coalition control.
The good relationships that western intelligence officers build allow them to gather significantly important information. But these troops are rotated in and rotated out while the Afghan people remain in the same place, watching members of the occupying Army come and go.
Afghan soldiers shake hand of U.S.serviceman who controls their paychecks.
In order to gain an upper hand in Afghanistan, I believe it will be vital for intelligence officers and soldiers to maintain longer relationships with local contacts in better and more productive ways. Every time a huge rotation takes place, all new soldiers arrive to take the place of those who have been getting to know the area for a year to fifteen months. Suddenly the experienced forces are out, and the locals have new U.S. soldiers patrolling their neighborhoods.
I know for a fact that this system of 'everyone in, everyone out', causes massive problems with regard to the actual war effort. To win in Afghanistan, we will need to be, among many other things... consistent. The latest casualty figures noted below, indicate a five to one ration for deaths in Afghanistan, compared to Iraq.
Afghanistan Casualties
It was announced today that two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom died January 8th in Maywand, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when their dismounted patrol was hit by an improvised explosive device.
Sergeant Joshua L. Rath, 22, of Decatur, Alabama, and Specialist Keith E. Essary, 20, of Dyersburg, Tennessee, were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
It was also reported that three soldiers died January 9th in the Zabul Province of Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle in Jaldak.
Major Brian M. Mescall, 33, of Hopkinton, Massachusetts, Specialist Joseph M. Hernandez, 24, of Hammond, Indiana and Specialist Jason R. Parsons, 24, of Lenoir, North Carolina, were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, Hohenfels, Germany.
One Casualty in Baghdad
The Department of Defense reported today the death of Army Staff Sergeant Justin L. Bauer, 24, of Loveland, Colorado, who died January 10th in Baghdad of wounds he sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.
U.S. soldiers patrol in Iraq: '08
He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.
The feeling in Iraq today among many of our combat forces, is that Americans have done what they can, and it is time to go.
There are stories about the end of the Vietnam War when U.S. forces were not even allowed to have bullets in their weapons for fear of causing a political reprisal. This may not become the case in Iraq, but it is an active discussion and something many in uniform dread.
In Vietnam, there were also those disagreements between Americans that led to gunfights. That same thing happens from time to time in Iraq.
I had soldiers tell me about full fledged firefights between disgruntled members of their own platoon. I wasn't near it, but a soldier was killed by another at a base north of Baghdad when I was in Balad, Iraq; reportedly in one of these soldier to soldier death matches.
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