Military analyst and Vietnam vet Mackubin Owens on why Iraq is not like Vietnam. As Owens explains, “Despite the popular perception of Vietnam as a guerrilla war, most of the fighting in that conflict was between U.S. and the PAVN, not guerrillas. The VC did play a role, of course, but it was subordinate to the main conflict.” In Iraq, by contrast, the guerillas operate alone, and without secure sanctuary in any remote or inhospitable terrain.
Owen acknowledges, however, that the Iraqi guerillas are still a force to be reckoned with. Accordingly, he calls for modifications in our approach to fighting them: “We need to isolate the Baathist regions. We need to develop good intelligence and act on it quickly. We need more aggressive patrolling.” Just as importantly, “We also have to secure the borders between Iraq and its neighbors, especially Iran and Syria. These countries need to understand that they will pay dearly for supporting the jihadists that cross their borders into Iraq.”
Courtesy of No Left Turns.
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