Shift the priority

Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2008 | 2:08 a.m.

Casualties are rising among American troops in Afghanistan because al-Qaida and Taliban terrorists are stepping up their attacks.

The enemy is able to plan and execute these attacks because they are no longer in retreat, as President Bush claimed they were at the war’s outset in late 2001.

Gone are Bush’s assertive news conferences, in which he would say, “We’re smoking them out. They’re running. And now we’re going to bring them to justice.”

Our early success in Afghanistan — ousting the Taliban rulers, destroying their terrorist training camps and installing a moderate government — has been marching in place ever since Bush decided Iraq was a higher priority.

Leaders of the Taliban and al-Qaida, including Mullah Mohammad Omar and Osama bin Laden, escaped capture, and terrorists of their persuasion have been gaining strength ever since across Afghanistan’s border in Pakistan’s lawless tribal lands — where Pakistan prohibits U.S. forces from operating.

And there it stands, a relatively small U.S. combat force, aided by mostly noncombat NATO forces, perpetually challenged to even maintain Afghanistan’s dismaying status quo.

The next president should make Afghanistan the priority in the war on terrorism. It is disheartening to hear the U.S. commander in Afghanistan pleading for more troops, only to be turned down because Iraq remains the priority.

Gen. David McKiernan said last week that he needs 15,000 troops in addition to a much smaller number President Bush has approved for deployment next year. Although Bush administration officials acknowledge that attacks have risen 30 percent this year, causing a stark increase in casualties among American and allied forces, McKiernan’s request is not being filled.

On Tuesday Defense Secretary Robert Gates told a Senate committee it would be spring before reinforcements on the level requested by McKiernan could begin.

This country should be much more engaged than that. One way would be to form a joint task force of Afghan, Pakistani and coalition forces, as suggested by Afghanistan’s defense minister. Its mission would be to patrol both sides of the Afghanistan/Pakistan border.

We can only hope the next administration attends to such priorities rather than just letting the war proceed as if its original purpose had been forgotten.