Two more bits: Syria and Afghanistan

If you read well down in this NYTimes article on Iraq,

Meanwhile, Iraqi politicians expressed concern over a plan by Syria to move border guards from its frontier with Iraq to help patrol its border with Lebanon -- a step that could further open the doors for insurgents to move from Syria to Iraq.

''The Syrian move will make the terrorists' entry to Iraq easier,'' said Abdul Karim al-Inazi, a Shiite lawmaker with the prime minister's Dawa Party and a former minister of state for national security.

I would argue this is Syria using the UN/Lebanon as an excuse to open their border to aid the Iraqi Civil War. (Notice it's a Shia politician complaining.)

Also: The British military in Afghanistan has recently been leaking some fairly dire stories like this one.

British forces in southern Afghanistan came within hours of retreating from a key base because they suffered a critical shortage of helicopters, the task force commander has disclosed.

This tells me just how desperate they are for more troops.