Way past time for U.S. to recommit to Afghanistan

Bob Casey

is a U.S. senator from Pennsylvania

In the days and weeks following the horrific events of 9/11, the American people recognized that we could never again allow al-Qaeda or a related group to gain the sanctuary needed to plan and train for another terrorist attack on American soil or against our allies. It is for that reason the United States moved to quickly topple the Taliban regime in Afghanistan after it refused to turn over Osama bin Laden and other senior al-Qaeda leaders who had taken refuge there.

However, our initial success in Afghanistan was followed by years of neglect, enabling the Taliban to make a comeback. Despite about 62,000 NATO troops in Afghanistan, including about 34,000 American forces, and more than 140,000 Afghan troops and police, Taliban remnants and pro-al-Qaeda forces have regrouped and constitute a very real threat to the Afghan government.

As of last week, at least 461 members of the U.S. military have died in Afghanistan, including at least 20 soldiers from Pennsylvania. Drug money continues to finance Taliban operations. According to the newly released 2008 U.N. World Drug Report, Afghanistan is now the world's largest supplier of opium and heroin.

Along with Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, I recently had an opportunity to visit Afghanistan and form my own assessments.

Retired Gen. James L. Jones, who as the supreme allied commander of NATO oversaw the alliance operations in Afghanistan, found in a recent report that "NATO is not winning in Afghanistan. . . . Afghanistan remains a failing state. It could become a failed state."

The Bush administration took its eye off the ball by shifting U.S. military forces out of Afghanistan during the run-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Our senior uniformed military officers acknowledge that the United States continues to have inadequate forces in Afghanistan, in large part due to the demands of our ongoing presence in Iraq.

It is long past time for the United States to recommit, both militarily and diplomatically, to Afghanistan. In doing so, we can also take the following steps:

First, any strategy for turning the tide in Afghanistan must account for what is happening across the border in Pakistan. The region straddling the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan is akin to the Wild West, where al-Qaeda, Taliban and other extremist groups have been able to operate with impunity for too long.

All too often, we have witnessed fighters crossing the border from Pakistan, engaging U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, and then returning to safety in Pakistan. As Levin and I made clear to the Pakistani leaders, Pakistan can no longer permit its territory to be used for attacks on a neighboring state.

Second, we must work to strengthen Afghanistan's security forces. American military commanders are impressed with their patriotism and their fighting spirit, but they are underequipped and need further training. We can do more to help; in particular, as Levin and I recommended upon our return from Afghanistan, we should assist the Afghan army to assume responsibility for border security. Today, lightly armed Afghan border police patrols this vital region - and it is no match for the militants and extremists who cross the border every day.

Finally, we must demonstrate to the Afghan people the concrete benefits of democracy and standing up to extremists who would return their nation to the 12th century. That means getting back to the basics: building roads, schools and hospitals. It's time for a new Marshall Plan for Afghanistan, where we work with our allies to invest in economic and social development for the Afghan people.

A recent report on Afghanistan called it our "forgotten front." The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mike Mullen, in a moment of surprising candor late last year, acknowledged that "in Afghanistan, we do what we can. In Iraq, we do what we must." With all due respect to Mullen, progress in Afghanistan is not optional. To succeed in the war on terror, President Bush and his successor must recommit to the fight in Afghanistan to ensure that it never again can be used as a sanctuary to attack our nation.