I’ve always said you learn a lot more by piecing two articles together than you do by reading either of them separately. With that in mind, let’s follow up on what I just wrote about troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. First, the US arguing with NATO about troops in Afghanistan.

The United States will press its European NATO allies to send more troops to Afghanistan’s violent south in response to Canada’s call for reinforcements, but the Pentagon said it will not commit any more of its own forces there. … U.S. defense officials have also regularly complained about the unwillingness of European allies to dedicate more combat troops and equipment to Afghanistan.

All right, take a moment to let that sink in. Now let’s head over to Iraq. What’s the problem there?

The Bush administration is sending strong signals that U.S. troop reductions in Iraq will slow or stop altogether this summer, a move that would jeopardize hopes of relieving strain on the Army and Marine Corps and revive debate over an open-ended U.S. commitment in Iraq.

Well, at least that explains why we won’t be sending any troops into Afghanistan, right?