There was a battle video posted showing the killing of an Abrams via AT missile and it was accurately guided to the target so it had to have been an optical one similar to the TOW. Impact explosion was indeed big.
It is not just the purely military part of COIN. The policy on the political process following the invasion only deepened division. Who is going to bleed for the flag if he knows that his tribe got cut out of the political pie? Tribal identity in the ME is still strong enough that no amount of US trainers can change.
The problem is when the army is viewed as just a really well paid job -700 USD per month which is good for Iraq standards--- who will in the end die for 700 USDs?
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