Afghanistan and Iraq: Comparisons

That was the entire point of "shock and awe" as a tactical doctrine, instead of the over-hyped media buzzword it became.

Here are some tactical observationsfrom Military Policy Review, Vol 15, July 2003)

More than 100 Iraqi armored vehicles were targeted moments before being engaged by the American Third Infantry Division.

The unit poured into Baghdad after launching a sustained bombardment of Iraqi positions.

More than 100 artillery shells were fired in the direction of southern Baghdad, while Black Hawk helicopters swept over the desert ahead of the troops and tanks, directing the oncoming fire.

The US 1st Marine Division entered Iraq at about 2100 local time (1800 GMT), encountering some resistance from Iraqi troops.

Using a combination of manuverability and early warning capabilites, elements from the 1st Marine Division reportedly destroyed 6 Iraqi tanks, which were dug into the desert using a classic "hull down" defensive position.

There are much, much more battles that can be illustrated...

The current Army doctrine relies on using our total domination in battlefield information technology to destroy the opposition before it can even engage us.

The swiftness of the direct Iraqi campaign was viewed largely as a success for Gen. Shinseki's Army reorganization program.


Another excerpt from BBCjust to show from another source that Iraq was not totally helpless):
The BBC reporter in northern Kuwait says the country has come under fire from 10 Scud-type missiles, some of which are reported to have been destroyed mid-flight by Patriot interceptor missiles.

 

So 6 tanks and 10 scuds actually engaged the US forces and this is a sign of the might and fury of the Great Iraqi Army?

 

Dude, those were excerpts.


If you wish to state that those excerpts, and the supposition that they represent the tip of an iceburg, is not enough to change your preconceived notion of a war in Iraq that consisted purely of driving tanks and guerrilla forces, please say so. Otherwise we might get the impression you have no intent on acutal discussion.

 

And yet even those planes didn't have enough spare parts. I'm sure the Iraqi army was one of the strongest pre '91 but now it was at the end of the line I'm sure. Do you actually believe that they Iraqi army would have been a match for say, the Iranian Army ? I doubt it.

Anyway, there's no way I can prove any of it. And I doubt you can prove the reverse if the best you've got is the fact that they have the same out-dated fighter planes as other countries that they didn't even use during the war.

 

Well, since you asked:

Here is the latest comparsions from Jane's Guidebook to the World's Fighting Forces, 2002 edition.

I'll compare Iraq, Iran and even throw in Afghanistan, to stay on topic...

Iraqas of March, 2002)
280,000 front line troops
120 BO-105 and Mi-24 attack helicopters
300 Mi-6, Mi-4, SA330 support helicopters
780 T-72 main battle tanks
1,800 T-55,T-62 reserve battle tanks
1,100 BMP-1/2 armored fighting vehicles
900 105mm M101 howitzers
600 262mm rocket launchers
2000 SPG-9, B11 anti-armor systems
4000 AT3, Milan, HOT anti-tank missles
58 SCUD missles
1200 SA7 anti-aircraft missle batteries

Iran(as of March, 2002)
240,000 front line troops
100 AH-IJ attack helicopters
225 CH47,UH1 support helicopters
500 Type-59 main battle tanks
120 T72 main battle tanks
150 M47/M60 reserve tanks
6000 B11, M40 anti-armor systems
630 M101,D30 howitzers
500 107mm heavy mortars
9 240mm rocket launcers
500 Scud missles
500 SA7 anti-aircraft missle batteries

Afghanistan:
Details are still incomplete, but a core group of reconstituted 3600 member national military force is underway, and an additional 70,000 are undergoing training.

The standard weapon of the Afghan national force is still the AK-47, with new barrels and recievers provided by Russia, Poland, and Hungary.

New supplies of 7.62mmS ammo were provided by the US and Russia.

The Iraqi army was hardly outdated and ill equiped. Now, I would argue that the equipment was there, but the Iraqi Army had no unified leadership, nor a will to fight.

Here is the quote from the Jane's analyst:

"The Iraqi Army has made a great effort to rebuild its combat formations following their decimation in the Gulf War. They have managed to acquire or rebuild a relatively large amount of new equipment, which falls within the framework of the UN sanctions."

 

Afghanistan is ALSO having trouble generating electricity. But this time it's not so easy to blame it on the Yanks. Heh.

THE power went out in Kabul on August 24th. It will come back on sometime in December, with the first snowfall. Another failure of the international reconstruction effort? For once not really. The problem is water. There is not enough of it in the reservoirs banking the three hydro-electric dams that supply Kabul with power. Only by load-shedding can enough be kept back for peak use through the winter.