Afghan assessment: what worked in Afghanistan and why it won't work in Iraq. (Gazette).

WHEN AMERICAN WAR-planes began bombing Afghanistan on October 7, 2001, the Pentagon and the press cautioned that victory would not come quickly. The fabled Taliban warriors were battle-tested, schooled in guerrilla warfare, and uniquely familiar with Afghanistan's rugged terrain. They also fielded some 45,000 troops, versus the Northern Alliance's 12,000--a sure recipe for a Vietnam-style quagmire, claimed pundits, noting that no foreign army had successfully conquered Afghanistan since Alexander the Great.

Fast-forward 10 weeks. The forces opposing the United States have been ...

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