In waging urban warfare, Israeli soldiers in Gaza and U.S.-led troops in Iraq use some of the same battlefield tactics, but Israel is less likely to get bogged down in prolonged combat.
The Israelis are fighting a temporary offensive in a tiny area with a limited objective _ winning the release of a soldier captured by Palestinian militants - while the Americans are pursuing the complex task of building a nation while fighting a widespread insurgency.
There are differences, too, in the threat of casualties even though both forces are far better armed than their opponents.
Israel's army often keeps its casualties to a minimum by using heavily armored tanks and troop carriers, while the Americans rely mainly on Humvees and trucks to patrol as they try to build up trust among Iraqi civilians.
Douglas A. Macgregor, a former American colonel who helped draft the concept for the U.S. advance to Baghdad, said the limited objectives of Israel's generally brief military missions don't require its troops to get out among the Palestinian people...
Israel also has an edge in preventing suicide attacks after years of intelligence gathering in the West Bank and Gaza. Israeli forces obtain far more information about planned attacks by Palestinians than U.S. or Iraqi troops get about Sunni Arab and foreign insurgents in Iraq.
Such intelligence often allows Israel's air force to kill suspected Palestinian militants who are driving in cars or its ground forces to raid houses where they are hiding...
In Iraq, U.S. and Iraqi leaders are working hard to gather more intelligence about insurgent groups, such as by offering rewards for information. But they haven't had the time it takes to painstakingly build up intelligence networks.
Still, like the Americans in Iraq, Israeli soldiers face a complex mix of militant groups that have sometimes competing agendas but who are all determined to drive out a force they consider an occupier.
In Iraq, that commitment means suicide bombers often attack U.S. forces and Iraqi civilians in marketplaces, city centers and even mosques.
In Gaza and the West Bank, it means Israeli troops fighting militants in populated areas often find young Palestinian boys joining the battle, sometimes armed only with stones...
Israel Has Edge Over U.S. in Urban Combat
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Originally Posted by Strickland
I also strongly disagree with this piece. We've discussed the false analogy of the US in Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian issue before on this board.
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