War On Terror Is Shifting From Iraq To Afghanistan

From Strategy Page:

June 18, 2008: The war on terror is shifting from Iraq to Afghanistan, as al Qaeda members have been doing for most of this year. Last month, more foreign (U.S. and NATO) troops died in Afghanistan (19) than in Iraq (17, according to the official count, unofficially, 19 troops died). And that's with twice as many foreign troops in Iraq. It's part of a trend. Foreign troops, especially Americans, are operating more as peacekeepers in Iraq this year. This is because Iraqi security forces are completing the process of building a Kurdish and Shia force that can match the abilities of Saddam's Sunni Arab thugs that controlled the country for decades. The new force does not use all the barbaric techniques Saddam's butchers employed. But the new guys can be pretty nasty, and will provide foreign journalists with much breathless copy in the next few years. Actually, the new Iraqi force is not much worse than any other security force in the region. But that's a story that doesn't fly with most editors. Dumping on Iraq does, and will continue to do so for a while.

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My Comment: The emphasis will still be Iraq. It's strategic importance outweighs anything that Afghanistan can be. Fighting will probably intensify in Afghanistan, but Iraq is the key.