Skelton says refocus on Afghan fight

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Skelton says refocus on Afghan fight
By Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Wednesday, April 30, 2008

WASHINGTON — U.S. military planners must shift their focus from Iraq to Afghanistan or risk another domestic attack, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee said Tuesday.

“If we are going to be attacked again, it will be from the Afghanistan/Pakistan border area,” Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., said at a meeting with reporters. “We all know they did it before, and we should give priority there so they can’t do it again.”

Skelton, who has pushed for a rapid withdrawal of troops from Iraq, said U.S. forces must increase their efforts to stand up Iraqi security units and “conclude that war” before it further damages the fight against the Taliban and al-Qaida in Asia.

In April, Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, told lawmakers that Iraqi soldiers and police have helped improve the security situation there, but that a too-hasty pullout of U.S. troops from the country could erase that progress.

But Skelton said he feels the prolonged conflict in Iraq has worn down soldiers and Marines, making them less able to respond quickly to emerging threats in Afghanistan as well as future threats.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=54430