American military needs to take Lessons from the IDF

Great Debates
1

The body count of US military fatal casualties in Iraq continues to mount. US soldiers are dying at a rate of 66 per month since the occupation started . Iraqi citizens are taking an even bigger toll every month. Yet there seems to be no end to the character of this conflict. The US occupation has fueled resentment among the arab/muslim world and provided an avenue for militants to secure munitions and recruits to fight the Great Satan.

Yet a foreign occupation that has provided far more political stress for the arab/muslim world and for much longer has been going on for 57 years. However that foreign occupier, the Israeli Defense Forces, have maintained a relatively low casualty rate throughout that period. If we take for example the first 23 months of the latest intifada the military casualty rate was 6 soldiers per month.

Now I don’t think anyone would argue with me that the Israelis are hated far more than the Americans or that the occupation of an area encompassing one of the three most revered holy sites in Islam by non believers is the biggest thorn in the side of arab/muslims. Given that militant Arabs have demonstrated an ability to wreak havoc on a foreign occupation by the most powerful military in the world, why can’t they succeed in doing the same in Israel?

2

First, Iraq is a much larger place, and is therefore much more difficult to control. Also, Israel has many more troops to control a smaller area.

The U.S. was utterly negligent in securing the mountains of military supplies abandoned by Saddam’s army. The Iraqi insurgents inherited a lifetime supply of weapons and explosives. I doubt they have needed to import any supplies.

3

I’d agree with the previous poster that a major difference seems to be the larger amount and greater quality of arms available to the Iraqi insurgents. Secondary to that are things painful learning curve concerning insurgent tactics by US troops. An example would be the widespread initial use of poorly armored vehicles in urban environments. One presumes that these situations are being rectified as they crop up. I hope so, anyway.

Now, an interesting question could be why more of the arms available in Iraq have not been transferred to insurgencies elsewhere, such as in the Palestinian territories. Have the US and other parties been highly successful at preventing this from happening or have the Iraqi insurgents simply made little or no effort to export their mischief? Personally, I have no idea.