DoD: No secret that Iraq is U.S. priority

The message coming from the Pentagon is unequivocally clear on which war zone takes priority, “I don’t think it’s any secret to anyone out there that the focus of this building, the focus of this administration has been on winning the war in Iraq…that is the war we are now winning, ” said Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morell during a press briefing. “And now that we have seen gains there the dividend from those gains, we are looking to see if we can apply them to Afghanistan,” he said.

Morrell emphasized previous statements made be Defense Department official. Adm. Mike Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has repeatedly said when speaking of the two wars, ‘In Afghanistan we do what we can. In Iraq we do what we must.” As a guest on the News Hour with Jim Lehrer Mullen said that the urgency to move more troops to Afghanistan should not give the impression that the U.S. is losing there.

Morrell said that given the question of the pace of shifting more troops to Afghanistan as the surge winds down indicates that the ultimate decision will be up to the next administration. Commanders on the ground in Afghanistan, principally General Dan McNeil, have asked for 3 more combat brigades and about 3,000 police trainers. Morrell said that some of these needs are being met by NATO allies.

Additionally Morrell spoke to the U.S. military policy of “Don’t ask, don’t tell,” being addressed in the House Armed Service Committee. Morrell said that at this time “Don’t ask, don’t tell” is the law of the land and there is no change in that policy on the horizon.