Perino: Iraq as important as Afghanistan

WASHINGTON, July 22 (UPI) -- White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Tuesday Iraq and Afghanistan are equally important in the U.S. fight against terrorism.

Perino told the daily press briefing even as the situation is easing in Iraq and troop levels are being reduced, an additional 30,000 troops have been sent to Afghanistan. She said, however, she is unaware of any imminent announcement of more troops being sent there, despite Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama's insistence at least two or three more brigades are needed to secure border areas.

Perino said the situations in Iraq and Afghanistan differ significantly. Though Iraq's infrastructure was crumbling, it still had an infrastructure, Perino said.

"In Afghanistan, we're dealing with a fundamentally different issue," she said. "There's hardly any road. There's no electricity. There's hardly any jobs. … it's going to take longer there."

Perino added: "I would say that both fronts are critically important."

Perino noted terror is a global issue, citing the bulldozer incident in Israel Tuesday and the bus explosion in China Monday.