Steiner on Afghanistan

For Immediate Release:   "Feb. 17, 2008:  A suicide bomber kills 80 people in Afghanistan attending a dog fighting match.  Feb. 16, 2008:  An explosion at a political rally in Parachinar, Pakistan, on the Afghan border, kills 37.  These are Al Quaida hitting soft targets of civilians.  As much as this seemingly disparate data does not involve Iraq directly, it does tell us something about what may be happening in the Global War on Terror.  It indicates a further shift of limited resources by Al Qaida and the Taliban from Iraq back to Afghanistan and Pakistan and a focus on softer, easier targets of opportunity."   "From surge forces in place late last fall, to the present, American casualties are down by a factor of one half or more.  Security in former 'hot spots' has been enhanced through active denial missions.  Embedded U.S. military are having a positive impact on Iraq security forces.  Support by local Sunni groups continues to stablize towns.  Al Quaida in Iraq has been forced to relocate to new areas, with less infrastructure to support them, and less opportunity to wreak havoc. Their supply lines out of Syria and Iran have been disrupted.  Iran appears to be heeding warnings from the United States to neutralize its Quds support to Iraqi militias.  Given their limited ability to move supplies, they have had to refocus tactical efforts back to Afghanistan and Pakistan."   "The prognosis is better for Iraq, but it is not definitive yet. However, over the course of the last 4 months a measurable change is occurring.  Gen. Petraeus has asked to curb withdrawals in order to maintain sufficient forces to respond to anticipated, but perhaps weakened, efforts by Al Quaida and opposition forces to disrupt growing stability.  Now is not the time for Congress to resurrect its "fixed withdrawal timeline" debate or other antics that do nothing but spur the Iraqi opposition to act."    "A suggestion to a Congress I hope to join within the year.  The vote to fund the military budget last fall, albeit crammed with pork barrel garbage to give so many members their political cover, actually sent a message to Al Quaida in Iraq and other opposition forces.  That message stated that the Congress they rely on to vote to bring U.S. troops home opted in the end to give the President a budget to support continued military operations.  Even this one vote demoralizes an enemy that cannot hope to compete with U.S. forces on a conventional battlefield.  With hope, Congress will have enough other issues to focus on (the benefit of a Presidential election year) and will not feel the need to undermine our military leaders or the current strategy going forward." ------------------------------------   Facts you did not know about Jim Steiner:  As a young captain, Jim Steiner was the first in his class graduating from the Tactical Intelligence Officer Course at Ft. Huachuca, AZ; he then graduated near the top of his class from the Military Intelligence Officer Advance Course ("MIOAC").  He went on to serve his country as a United States Army Green Beret.