He’s Also a Warrior

Obama wants to destroy al-Qaeda and become more active in Pakistan. He called al-Qaeda “a cancer” threatening Pakistan and he called on the allies to become more involved in the region.

President Barack Obama is making the Afghanistan war into his own personal war. That’s apparent from the new “comprehensive strategy” that he finally made public on Friday. Focal points of the strategy will be destroying al-Qaeda and broadening regional diplomatic initiatives.

As was announced several weeks ago, the United States wants to include Pakistan in the new regional strategy and support it with $1.5 billion annually in civilian projects. He also appealed to the Pakistani people to consider joining America’s fight against extremists as being in their common interests. Al-Qaeda has killed more Muslims than outsiders have, he said, calling Islamists “a cancer that risks killing Pakistan from within.”

Obama repeatedly emphasized that he has good reason to continue the war in Afghanistan, saying that these efforts that have already cost the lives of many soldiers and civilians is an investment in their own security and futures. He added that the NATO states as well as Russia, China, India and Iran all had great interest in improving the security situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Obama made it clear that he expects the NATO allies to provide not only additional troops but, above all, resources for civilian reconstruction and the training of Afghan police and military forces. Details will be forthcoming at the conference on Afghanistan being held next month in Tokyo. Obama didn’t address the question of how long the United States is willing to stay in Afghanistan but he did make clear he expects the Afghan government to retake control of the country by 2011.

These are the important points making up Obama’s Afghanistan strategy:

Military: Obama already sent an additional 17,000 soldiers to the Hindu Kush in February and these are to be followed by another 4,000 training personnel. By 2011, the U.S. the goal is to have trained 82,000 Afghan police officers.

International Cooperation: Obama wants to have regular meetings with representatives from Afghanistan, Pakistan and the United States as well as setting up a contact group made up of representatives from Russia, China, India and central Asian and Arab states.

Benchmarks: Obama wants to make progress quantifiable. The United States will first establish benchmarks, something the Bush administration was unable to do in Iraq. “If our strategy isn’t working, we won’t hold on to it,” said Obama.

Financial aid and accountability: In his speech, Obama asked Congress to appropriate $1.5 billion over the next five years for civilian construction projects in Pakistan. In order to control the use of these funds, Obama wants accountability overseen by inspectors sent to the country.

Civilian society: Obama calls it “civic engagement” by which he means decisive increases in civilian capacity. Afghanistan needs more experts in the areas of constitutional government and the justice system, as well as more police trainers, agricultural experts, veterinarians and hydraulic engineers.

Pakistan: Obama talks of “two states with a single challenge.” He thus sees Pakistan as part of his Afghanistan strategy.

The Pakistani government welcomed Obama’s speech, as did the European Union foreign ministers. Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Pakistan had “an active and constructive role to play because we believe our security is dependent on the situation in Afghanistan.” The new U.S. strategy has “drawn closer to European concepts,” said German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Civilian construction must be given priority, he said, but “fighting those forces seeking to bring instability and force into the country must also continue.” He added that there would be “no demands” on Germany and Europe for additional troops.

The Taliban appears to be also developing new strategies. According to a report in the New York Times, the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan have agreed for the first time to a consolidated offensive against U.S. troops. Taliban leaders on both sides of the border agreed to lay aside their differences in order to prepare “a very bloody year” for their enemies.