The State Department recently put out its annual report on global terrorism, described in an article in the Financial Times.  The report highlights al-Qaeda’s increased propaganda efforts and the continuing strength of al-Qaeda throughout the Iraq-Afghanistan-Pakistan region.  Al-Qaeda is able to rally the Muslim populations around the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and in Pakistan’s poorly governed Federally Administered Tribal Areas, they are able to plan and prepare attacks.  In the sanctuary of the tribal areas they have significantly increased their operational capabilities, which has led the number of terrorist attacks in Afghanistan to steadily rise from 491 in 2005 to 1,127 in 2007, and in Iraq from 3,469 in 2005 to 6,212 in 2007.

James Carafano and Lisa Curtis, senior research fellows at the Heritage Foundation, address the interconnectedness of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan in the fight against al-Qaeda in their paper, “Petraeus Hearing Should Focus on Three Fronts, One Long War.”  As General Petraeus takes on his new position as CENTCOM commander he “will have to pursue an integrated strategy that wins on all three fronts.”  Addressing only Iraq or only Afghanistan ultimately will not lead to victory over al-Qaeda; the United States must take an approach that will defeat the organization on all three fronts.