By Jeremy Pelofsky
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush's planto keep most U.S. troops in Iraq and shift a few thousand toAfghanistan drew quick criticism on Tuesday from top Democrats,led by presidential hopeful Barack Obama who said it was notenough to combat escalating violence in Afghanistan.
Bush, an unpopular president fighting an unpopular war inIraq, said a dramatic drop in violence in that war zone wouldallow the U.S. military to shift its efforts to Afghanistan,where he acknowledged that "huge challenges" remain.
He announced some 8,000 combat and support personnel wouldreturn from Iraq by February 2009 while a fresh Marinebattalion and an Army combat brigade would go to Afghanistan byJanuary to respond to soaring attacks by Islamist militants.
"For all the good work we have done in that country, it isclear we must do even more," Bush said at the National DefenceUniversity. "As we learned in Iraq, the best way to restore theconfidence of the people is to restore basic security -- andthat requires more troops."
But any large-scale shift in U.S. forces in the two warswill be left to his successor -- either Republican Sen. JohnMcCain or Obama. Bush will leave office in January after theNovember 4 election.
Obama, who has pledged to withdraw combat troops from Iraqwithin 16 months of taking office, said Bush's plan takes toolong to shift resources to Afghanistan and its border regionwith Pakistan, where U.S. officials say they believe al Qaedaleader Osama bin Laden is hiding.
'NOT ENOUGH URGENCY'
"His plan comes up short -- it is not enough troops, andnot enough resources, with not enough urgency," Obama toldreporters in Ohio, a hotly contested state in the election.
"I will finally have a comprehensive strategy to finish thejob in Afghanistan -- with more troops, more training of Afghansecurity forces ... and more focus on eliminating the Talibanand al Qaeda sanctuary along the Pakistan border," the Illinoissenator added.
McCain has backed Bush's strategy of refusing to set atimeline for pulling troops out of Iraq and withdrawing forcesonly as security conditions in the war zone allow. But he hasalso called for more combat troops for Afghanistan.
Obama and McCain are in a statistical dead heat in the racefor the White House with the economy and two wars atop voters'list of concerns.
The United States has 146,000 troops in Iraq and 33,000 inAfghanistan.
Bush's recommendations followed advice from top U.S.defence officials, including Defence Secretary Robert Gates,Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen and Gen.David Petraeus, the commander of forces in Iraq.
Bush said Petraeus held open the door to additional troopwithdrawals from Iraq in the first half of 2009 but alsoacknowledged that the gains there were "fragile andreversible."
Democrats on Capitol Hill, too, criticized Bush's decision.
"Given the increasingly violent situation in Afghanistanand Pakistan, I am stunned that President Bush has decided tobring so few troops home from Iraq and send so few resources toAfghanistan," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.
The White House dismissed Reid's comments.
"When Senator Reid becomes commander in chief, he'll have alittle bit more credibility on that score," said White Housespokeswoman Dana Perino.
(Additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick in Washington andDeborah Charles in Ohio; editing by Kristin Roberts andMohammad Zargham)