The House of Representatives yesterday passed a new war funding bill that would provide more than $105 billion to the military efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.  The bill is among the first and largest military war funding bills President Barack Obama has gotten through Congress since taking office as Commander-in-Chief.

Much of the funding would address what is widely considered to be a shift in focus from the Iraq War front to the Afghanistan War front.  Iraq, which has become a considerably more calm, stable region since the "troop surge" and strategic changes of CENTCOM General David Petraeus, is likely to see a drastic reduction in the number of US soldiers.  American soldiers continue to transfer more power and responsibility to the newly-trained Iraqi security forces.  Afghanistan, however, has seen an explosion of violence and terrorist activity over the past year, as Taliban loyalists have regained a foothold and have made gains in rural villages as close as 60 miles from the capitol city of Kabul.  Obama has indicated that more troops will likely be deployed to the area in an attempt to halt Taliban progress.

The bill also opens up more than $100 billion in credit lines for the International Monetary Fund, and features a few riders related to the proposed closure of the Guantanimo Bay Detention Center.

The bill passed the House narrowly, with 32 Democrats voting against it, and only 5 Republicans crossing the aisle in support.  The bill will now be taken up by the Senate for further consideration.