Counterinsurgency training

The New York Times today has a lengthy article detailing the counterinsurgency training currently taking place at the National Training Center in California. This where the army trained for its full scale war with the Soviets in Germany during the Cold War. Now they train on how to deal with insurgents in Iraq.

Quote:
Perhaps the most troubling aspect of the war games is that the insurgent force usually exacts enormous death tolls on the Americans. As in Iraq and Afghanistan, the insurgents at Fort Irwin know the territory better. "It's not even close," said Fuad Bahi al-Jabouri, whose real name is Specialist Anthony Manzanares. He is 46, a native of San Francisco and a disguised insurgent in the villages here. "It's a massacre. We know the terrain. It's our home turf." Unquote.

I disagree with the author that the fact that the insurgents usually win is troubling. If one were to examine the history of the NTC during the Cold War, they would find that is was rare for the OpFor (Opposition Force) to lose. The system is designed to exploit every weakness. It is only by losing in California can the Army learn to win in Iraq and where ever they end up fighting after Iraq.