After years of neglect, deteriorating conditions in Afghanistan are raising questions for President Bush and John McCain. Democrats have been there all along – and since 2002 have been making the case that Iraq is distracting us from the main fight against Al Qaeda. Senator Kerry made this argument a central part of his campaign in 2004 and Barack Obama has been very clear about the importance of Afghanistan since early in the primary campaign.

SENATOR BARACK OBAMA

In 2002 Senator Obama gave a speech warning that Iraq was a distraction and that we should finish the fight against Al Qaeda. “I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of Al-Qaeda. I am not opposed to all wars. I’m opposed to dumb wars. So for those of us who seek a more just and secure world for our children, let us send a clear message to the President today. You want a fight, President Bush? Let’s finish the fight with Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda.” [Senator Barack Obama, 10/2/02]

Senator Obama called for a change in strategy last year and a greater focus on Afghanistan. “As President, I would deploy at least two additional brigades to Afghanistan to re-enforce our counter-terrorism operations and support NATO's efforts against the Taliban. As we step up our commitment, our European friends must do the same, and without the burdensome restrictions that have hampered NATO's efforts. We must also put more of an Afghan face on security by improving the training and equipping of the Afghan Army and Police, and including Afghan soldiers in U.S. and NATO operations.” [Senator Barack Obama, 8/01/07]

SENATOR JOHN KERRY DURING THE 2004 CAMPAIGN

By trading Afghanistan for Iraq, the President has ignored the central terrorist threat. "And Iraq is not even the center of the focus of the war on terror. The center is Afghanistan, where, incidentally, there were more Americans killed last year than the year before; where the opium production is 75 percent of the world's opium production; where 40 to 60 percent of the economy of Afghanistan is based on opium; where the elections have been postponed three times.” [U.S. Presidential Debates, 9/30/04]

President Bush didn’t finish the fight against Al Qaeda because he was distracted by Iraq. “Unfortunately, [Osama bin Laden] escaped in the mountains of Tora Bora. We had him surrounded. But we didn't use American forces, the best trained in the world, to go kill him. The President relied on Afghan warlords and he outsourced that job too. That's wrong. Saddam Hussein didn't attack us. Osama bin Laden attacked us. Al Qaeda attacked us. And when we had Osama bin Laden cornered in the mountains of Tora Bora, 1,000 of his cohorts with him in those mountains, with the American military forces nearby and in the field, we didn't use the best trained troops in the world to go kill the world's number one criminal and terrorist. They outsourced the job to Afghan warlords, who only a week earlier had been on the other side fighting against us, neither of whom trusted each other. That's the enemy that attacked us. That's the enemy that was allowed to walk out of those mountains. That's the enemy that is now in 60 countries, with stronger recruits.” [U.S. Presidential Debates, 9/30/04]

CHAIRMAN OF THE SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE JOSEPH BIDEN

Joe Biden warned very early on about the dangers of not focusing on Afghanistan. “It’s simple: the very same conditions that enabled the Taliban to come to power in the mid-1990s are rapidly emerging again…Unless we take a serious look at our policy, I greatly fear we may be setting the stage for a tragic replay of recent Afghan history.” [Senator Joseph Biden, 5/17/02]

Iraq has caused us to lose sight of Afghanistan. “With our attention focused on Iraq, we run the risk of overlooking the alarming deterioration of security in Afghanistan. In both countries, the projection of American military power was decisive, but we have fallen short in demonstrating the staying power necessary to achieve stability.” [NYTimes, 10/1/03]

“The next President will have to rally America and the world to ‘fight them over there unless we want to fight them over here.’ The ‘over there’ is not, as President Bush has claimed, Iraq, but rather the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan.” [NY Times, 3/2/08]

SENATE MAJORITY LEADER HARRY REID

The Administration has taken its eye off the ball. “It is a travesty that Osama bin Laden remains at large nearly six years after the 9/11 attacks and appears to have found new sanctuary to operate freely in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border regions. The Bush Administration and most Congressional Republicans would rather stubbornly stick with a flawed strategy and fight a war that senior military leaders say cannot be won militarily, than adapt to fighting the enemy who attacked us nearly six years ago. It is essential that we dedicate our resources and attention to Al Qaeda and the real threat it poses.” [Senator Reid, 7/12/07]

We must refocus our efforts on Afghanistan. “Today’s warning that Afghanistan may fall into a failed state as Al Qaeda grows stronger is unsettling, but unsurprising. The conclusions by Marine Corps Gen. James Jones and former U.N. Ambassador Thomas Pickering reiterate how urgently we must refocus our resources on the real home of Al Qaeda. The President has taken his eye off the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 while spending over $300 billion more on an Iraqi civil war.” [Senator Reid, 1/31/08]

SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE NANCY PELOSI

"[We had hoped that] the President would realize that the real war on terrorism is in Afghanistan and this war in Iraq has taken the focus away from that…” [Larry King Live, 4/24/2008]

CHAIRMAN OF THE SENATE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE CARL LEVIN

“For too long, U.S. military operations in Afghanistan have taken a back seat to the war in Iraq. Chairman of the Joint Staff Admiral Mullen acknowledged as much in December, when he said, ‘It is simply a matter of resources, of capacity. In Afghanistan, we do what we can. In Iraq, we do what we must.’ This is not acceptable.” [Senator Carl Levin, 3/4/2008]

SENATOR JACK REED

The terrorist threat grows dire while the U.S. remains in Iraq. “That is because, once we focused on Iraq, we took our focus off Afghanistan and Pakistan. We have allowed the Taliban to rehabilitate itself. The Pakistanis have been unable to deny a safe haven to bin Laden, Zawihiri, and other key elements of Al Qaeda's leadership who are not only surviving but beginning to reorganize and reassert themselves as directors or aspirers or at least coconspirators with other terror groups around the world.” [Senator Jack Reed, 3/15/07]