November 8, 2009:
At the height of the fighting in Iraq, about 4.8 percent of the troops there were being wounded each year. Currently, in Afghanistan, 6.2 percent are being wounded. Part of this is due to the increasing use of roadside bombs, which is now on the same scale as Iraq, at its worst. But there's also a lot more ground combat. The Afghan enemy is more likely to stand and fight that their Iraqi counterparts. The Afghans not only fight more, but they fight smarter. They have made much greater use of human shields, taking cover among civilians, knowing that the American ROE (Rules of Engagement) put great emphasis on avoiding civilian casualties. This often results in greater American casualties.