Petraeus talks Pakistan, Afghanistan

[unhappycamper]

Petraeus talks Pakistan, Afghanistan
By Joseph Giordono, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Tuesday, September 16, 2008

BAGHDAD

While he believes Iraq is still al-Qaida’s "main effort" in the region, Gen. David Petraeus’ first priorities at Central Command will be the deteriorating situations in Pakistan and Afghanistan, he said in an interview Sunday afternoon in his Green Zone office.

In an hourlong session amid preparations for his change of command on Tuesday, Petraeus recounted the hard-won successes achieved in Iraq and gave a glimpse into the months to come.

And while he said the lessons learned in Iraq will help inform his decisions, he is keenly aware that flexibility is key. Different circumstances call for different strategies, something he noted the enemy knows as well.

"There may be a reassessment ongoing by al-Qaida’s senior leaders as they see the reversals al-Qaida has suffered in Iraq. And there appears to be some indicators that some resources at least have been sent to western Pakistan, and Afghanistan, rather than Iraq," Petraeus said.

"Although some of that might just be due to the problems they’ve had getting foreign fighters through Syria into Iraq … But Iraq is still a location in which al-Qaida is able to generate significant resources through Mafia-like activities that fund extremists beyond the boundaries of Iraq — the Levant and elsewhere in the region."


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=57434