Top US Democrats have criticised President George W Bush for not sending enough resources to Afghanistan to combat soaring violence and for pulling too few American troops out of Iraq.
The criticism was led by presidential hopeful Barack Obama who said it was not enough to combat escalating violence in Afghanistan.
President Bush said a dramatic drop in violence in Iraq would allow the US military to shift its effort to Afghanistan, where he acknowledged that "huge challenges" remain.
He said some 8,000 combat and support personnel would return from Iraq by February 2009, while 4,500 troops in the form of a fresh Marine battalion and an Army combat brigade, would go to Afghanistan to respond to escalating attacks there and along the border with Pakistan by Islamist militants.
"While the enemy in Iraq is dangerous, we have seized the offensive; Iraqi forces are becoming increasingly capable of leading and winning the fight,"' he said. "As a result, we've been able to carry out a policy of `return on success,' reducing American combat forces in Iraq as conditions on the ground continue to improve.''
"Afghanistan's success is critical to the security of America and our partners in the free world,'' he added. "As we learned in Iraq, the best way to restore the confidence of the people is to restore basic security and that requires more troops."'
Mr Obama, who has pledged to withdraw combat troops from Iraq within 16 months of taking office, said Mr Bush's plan takes too long to shift resources to Afghanistan and its border region with Pakistan, where US officials say they believe al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is hiding.
"His plan comes up short, it is not enough troops, and not enough resources, with not enough urgency," he told reporters in Ohio, a hotly contested state in the election.
"I will finally have a comprehensive strategy to finish the job in Afghanistan with more troops, more training of Afghan security forces ... and more focus on eliminating the Taliban and al Qaeda sanctuary along the Pakistan border," he added.
John McCain has backed Mr Bush's strategy of refusing to set a timeline for pulling troops out of Iraq and withdrawing forces only as security conditions in the war zone allow. But he has also called for more combat troops for Afghanistan.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat from Nevada, said Mr Bush should be doing more to shift resources to Afghanistan.
"Given the increasingly violent situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan, I am stunned that President Bush has decided to bring so few troops home from Iraq and send so few resources to Afghanistan," Mr Reid said.
The US has 146,000 troops in Iraq and 33,000 in Afghanistan.
Any large-scale shift in US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan will be left to President Bush's successor, John McCain or Barack Obama. President Bush will leave office in January after the November 4th election.
Reuters