Pakistan, Afghanistan war strategy:
Obama: No changes needed
US: US President Barack Obama has told lawmakers that no current
changes are needed to his Afghanistan and Pakistan strategy, as US
forces escalate operations against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.
Obama delivered the verdict, which had previously been voiced by
senior members of his national security staff, as he handed over his
administration’s latest classified report on the conduct of the war
mandated by Congress.
“We are continuing to implement the policy as described in December
and do not believe further adjustments are required at this time,” Obama
wrote in the assessment, delivered Monday.
“As the Congress continues its deliberations on the way ahead in
Afghanistan and Pakistan, I want to continue to underscore our nation’s
interests in the successful implementation of this policy.”
At the end of an exhaustive policy review in December, Obama
announced plans to surge 30,000 troops into Afghanistan to seize the
momentum in the long-running war but warned some soldiers would begin to
withdraw by July 2011.
The president is expected to mount a fresh review of strategy on
Afghanistan by the end of the year, but again, no major adjustments are
expected.
The NATO-led strategy is designed to push Taliban insurgents out of
major towns in the south and east while building up Afghan government
security forces so that American troops can start withdrawing by July
2011.
Defence Secretary Robert Gates and top commanders say there are
tentative signs of progress in Afghanistan, where nearly 150,000 US and
allied troops are trying to turn the tide against a resilient Islamist
insurgency.
The White House said late Monday that Obama held a 30-minute
videoconference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, discussing “a number
of topics, including the strategic vision for long term US-Afghan
relations, the recent Afghan parliamentary elections, and regional
relations.”
“The two leaders agreed that they should continue routine engagements
to refine a common vision and to align our efforts to support President
Karzai’s goal of completing transition to Afghan lead security
responsibility by 2014,” the White House said.
Obama released his report Monday amid fresh evidence of an escalation
of US activity in the lawless region between Pakistan and Afghanistan
A US drone strike on Monday killed eight militants, including German
nationals in Pakistan near the Afghan border, local security officials
said.
The attack came hours after Japan and Sweden joined Washington and
London in issuing an alert warning of a “possible terrorist attack” by
Al-Qaeda and affiliated groups against their citizens travelling in
Europe.
Fresh bombings, shootings and violence meanwhile underscored the
heavy toll on US and allied forces, as five NATO soldiers died Monday.
The new deaths took to 561 the number of foreign troops killed in the
Afghan war so far in 2010, according to a tally by independent website
icasualties.org, as the toll from the nine-year Taliban-led insurgency
worsens.
This year’s toll is the highest on record since the war began in late
2001 with a US-led invasion toppling the Taliban regime after it refused
to hand over Al-Qaeda leaders following the September 11 attacks.
Washington, AFP
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