The commanders have put their proposition to President Trump, and so far he has said nothing. Despite the cost of the American presence, $3.1 billion per month, the matter is not among his priorities and indeed hardly seems to be on his radar. The war received scant attention during the presidential campaign and his only recent acknowledgment of its existence was a meeting last week with the Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, in which he commended Mr. Ghani’s leadership and praised the bravery of Afghan troops.

The White House is reportedly divided over the issue. Some experts argue that a surge would allow American advisers to train and assist a greater number of Afghan forces and place American troops closer to the front lines. The Afghans still need help with such basics as managing their motor pool, supplying bullets and gasoline to troops in the field, and administering payrolls. They also need help with intelligence.

Washington concluded long ago that a military solution is out of the question. What a surge could do is buy time for what ultimately has to happen — a political agreement between the Taliban and the Afghanistan government. While previous efforts to launch negotiations came to naught, some experts say there are signs that the Taliban could be persuaded to talk if Afghan and American forces ratchet up the military pressure.

But that presupposes a coordinated strategy that combines military, diplomatic and economic initiatives. There is no indication that the Trump administration, overwhelmed on many fronts, led by a president with no government experience and with few experienced foreign policy experts in senior positions, has even begun to devise such a strategy.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s political leadership remains deeply flawed and divided; corruption is rampant and heroin is the dominant export. Pakistan continues to be a troublesome neighbor as it works to offset Indian influence in Afghanistan by providing a haven or other support to militant groups fighting there.