20 December 2008
While the Bush administration lauds the surge success in Iraq, things continue to go downhill in Afghanistan. Not continuing to go after al-Qaeda in Afghanistan full tilt and putting most of our troops in the Iraq war, has allowed al-Qaeda to rebuild and grow stronger. The Marine Corps wants to take over the war in Afghanistan while the Army tends to Iraq. Defense secretary Gates has nixed that idea.
The Pentagon is now thinking that focusing its forces in Iraq wasn’t the smartest move. A Pentagon spokesman said that U.S. Central Command is “reviewing their own Afghanistan plan”, but that doesn’t necessarily signal a major change in strategy. What we have gained in Iraq is overshadowed by the looming crisis in Afghanistan. Instability has spread to previously benign southern provinces while we have made only modest gains in the north. It’s well past time time to focus our efforts on ending the Taliban’s influence, not creating more enemies in Iraq.
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