﻿ NATO Review - Afghanistan’s challenges – lessons from the
Colombian experience  Afghanistan's challenges - lessons from
the Colombian experience  Colombia is a country whose experience
can offer valuable lessons to Afghanistan. Here, the Colombian
Minister of Defence outlines how strategies to regain
territorial control and tackle drug production and consumption
have helped his country.  Colombian Defence Minister Juan Manuel
Santos briefs Colombian President Alvaro Uribe (© AP / Reporters
)  At first glance, Colombia and Afghanistan appear to have
little in common.  Colombia is almost twice the size of
Afghanistan. Its population, at over 42 million, is almost 50%
higher than Afghanistan's. Three times as many people live in
cities in Colombia than in Afghanistan. And whereas Afghanistan
is characterized by rugged and mountainous terrain, Colombia has
many areas covered by jungle.  But it is the difficulty in
accessing large parts of territory - and the use that terrorist
and drug trafficking groups have m