The Iranian side of the problem is being beaten back:
The number of rocket and mortar attacks in Iraq that can be linked to Iranian-sponsored fighters has fallen in recent weeks, the second-ranking American commander in Iraq said Wednesday.
Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin attributed the decline mainly to inroads made by Iraqi security forces in choking off radical elements of Shiite militias in the southern cities of Basra and Amarah. Amarah purportedly is a hub for smuggling weapons to Iraqi Shiite extremists from Iran.
And the jihais coming through Syria are declining:
US intelligence and military sources told the newspaper that dozens or more Uzbeks, North Africans and Arabs from Gulf states have moved into Pakistan in recent months, shoring up the Al-Qaeda forces which are backing the Taliban insurgency in neighboring Afghanistan.
A US military spokesman in Baghdad told the Times that there has been a corresponding drop in the number of foreign fighters entering Iraq, now less than 40 a month compared to up to 110 a month one year ago.
"The flow may reflect a change that is making Pakistan, not Iraq, the preferred destination for some Sunni extremists from the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia who are seeking to take up arms against the West," the Times wrote, citing the officials.
Al Qaeda is switching focus to Afghanistan away from Iraq. At this rate, the "real" war against al Qaeda really will be in Afghanistan and--more importantly--in Pakistan.
We are winning on the battlefield. But winning in Iraq means much more than this. We need to give Iraq the time to heal and build, protecting them from external threat. Do this and we will help Iraqis build a stable democracy.
Which is why we must keep sufficient troops in Iraq for years to come.
