Rice: Afghan strategy tough -- Tribune correspondent

Afghanistan has a population of 31 million, compared with 26 million in Iraq, but an economy that is nearly 50 times smaller. Afghanistan's budget is around $700 million, compared with a $48 billion budget now before the Iraqi parliament. This alone, say administration officials, makes solutions to Afghanistan's problems more diffuse, with heavy reliance on international assistance—and the need to coordinate with not only a fragile Afghan government, but a myriad of international organizations, many of which pull in different directions.