How does the CDI handle the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan?
As a relatively objective way to decide which military interventions should be counted, the security component of the CDI only includes contributions to interventions approved by international bodies such as the U.N. Security Council, NATO, and African Union. Since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq had no such mandate, it is not counted. On the other hand, NATO authorized the operations in Afghanistan, so it is counted.
