A U.S. Perspective: Facts on how Afghanistan differs from Vietnam.

1. The Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese never posed any direct threat to the United States and its homeland. The people we are fighting in Afghanistan and the people they are sheltering in Western Pakistan, pose a direct threat.
2. Unlike Vietnam, there is no super power enemy like the Soviet Union or regional power like China supporting the Taliban. The North Vietnamese army was professional, well-trained, disciplined and supplied with the best the Soviets and Chinese could produce. The Taliban, on the other hand, is an under-armed set of largely localized militants adding up to only perhaps 10,000-15,000 armed fighters. Taliban are largely incapable of bringing down American and NATO planes or helicopters, attacking big American bases, or massing for major offensives of any sort.
3. By the end of 2009, the cost of the Iraq War will pass that of the Vietnam War and, in dollars spent, and stand second only to World War II in U.S. history. Add to that the rising expense of a never-ending Af-Pak War and — in the worst of economic times — you have the equivalent of a vast financial hemorrhage, an economic sinkhole.
4. At the height of the Vietnam War in 1968, the U.S. was losing soldiers at a rate of 1,300 a month. At the height of the Iraq war in 2007, losses averaged 75 a month. In Afghanistan, the U.S. is currently losing about 15 a month.
5. America is a much weaker and more vulnerable economic and political power now than it was in Sixties — particularly in the post October 2008 Wall Street meltdown and its inevitable anti-American aftermath.
6. The Afghanistan insurrection has not achieved broad support comparable to the revolutionary National Liberation Front (NLF) in Vietnam. The Viet Cong, the NLF military arm, demonstrated highly disciplined unity and there is no counterpart to the conventional forces of North Vietnam. Iran, in fact, has provided aid to the government in Kabul. Forces supporting the Afghan government are authorized by the U.N. and NATO, in stark contrast to the circumstances of the Vietnam War.
7. In Afghanistan — with its vast expanses of land, its 40,000 villages and vicious terrain — the task will be harder than it was in Vietnam.

10 Facts about Afghanistan

1. 3 countries have invaded Afghanistan in modern times (19th century on):
   • The United Kingdom
   • The Soviet Union
   • The United States
2. 1919: The year Afghanistan achieved full independence from the United Kingdom.
3. December 24, 1979: The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan.
   February 15, 1989: The Soviet Union left Afghanistan. (They continued providing aid until 1992.)
4. 600,000 to 2,000,000: The estimated number of Afghans killed during the Soviet occupation.
5. 5,000,000: The number of Afghans displaced during the Soviet occupation, mostly to neighboring countries.
6. 1994: The Taliban movement began to form.
   1996: The Taliban became a political force when they seized Kabul and established the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
   By the end of 2000: The Taliban had captured 95% of the country.
7. October 7, 2001: The U.S. invaded Afghanistan when the U.S. began an aerial bombing campaign against the Taliban following the September 11th attacks.
8. October 9, 2004: Afghanistan held its first democratic presidential elections.
9. January 2006: A NATO International Security Assistance Force started to replace U.S. troops in southern Afghanistan.
10. The largest ethnic minority group in Afghanistan: The Pashtuns, accounting for slightly more than 50% of the population.