Washington: US President Barack Obama has said that his administration is in the process of making a series of strategic decisions with regard to Afghanistan with the aim of dismantling the al Qaeda and the Taliban network in the country.
"We are in the process of making a series of strategic decisions that will be sustainable, and we`ll be doing so in close consultation with our allies and our partners," Obama told a joint press conference following his meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the White House.
"I just want to be absolutely clear, because there`s been a lot of discussion in the press about this, that there is no immediate decision pending on resources, because one of the things that I`m absolutely clear about is you have to get the strategy right and then make determinations about resources," he said.
"You don`t make determinations about resources, and certainly you don`t make determinations about sending young men and women into battle without having absolute clarity about what the strategy is going to be," Obama said.
"My determination is to get this right," he said, adding that that means broad consultation not only inside the US government, but also with ISAF partners and NATO allies. "And I`m going to take a very deliberate process in making those decisions".
Obama said the goals is to eliminate al Qaeda as a threat and it is important to recognise that ultimately the security of Afghanistan has to transferred onto the shoulders of the
Afghan government.
"So the degree to which we are training them and building capacity, that`s something that I`m certain will be part of any long-term strategy, sustainable strategy," he said.
"I think that what is clear is that we have lacked as clear of a strategy and a mission as is necessary in order to meet our overriding objective, which is to dismantle and disrupt and destroy al Qaeda and prevent it from being able to project violence against the United States, allies like Canada, our bases and operations around the world. So that has not yet occurred," Obama said.
Soon after assuming office on January 20, Obama said he had to make a series of immediate decisions about sending additional troops to ensure that the election could take place during the fighting season.
"But I was crystal clear at the time that post-election we were going to need to do an additional assessment. General (Stanley) McChrystal has carried out his own assessment on the military strategy, but it`s important that we also do an assessment on the civilian side, the diplomatic side, the development side; that we analyse the results of the election and then make further decisions moving forward," Obama said.
Harper said Canada will transition from a predominantly military mission to a civilian humanitarian development mission after 2011. "That transition is already in place," he said.
Bureau Report
