Washington: US President Barack Obama
would hold his sixth Situation Room meeting with his national
security team today to discuss his administrations strategy on
Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The meeting at the White House will be attended by
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defence Secretary Robert
Gates, National Security Advisor General (rtd) James Jones,
Deputy NSA Tom Donilon, John Brennan, Assistant to the
President for Counterterrorism and Homeland Security and Rahm
Emanuel, the White House Chief of Staff.
Vice President, Joe Biden, who is in Europe would join
the meeting through video conference.
Unlike previous five meetings – each one of which
lasted for more than three hours – today's meeting is
scheduled to last about 75 minutes only.
Also Obama would be discussing the issue only with a
small group of half-a-dozen people, unlike previous occasions
which was over 16 including the US Ambassadors to Afghanistan
and Pakistan.
The Special US Representative for Pakistan and
Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke, is a notable absentee to this
crucial meeting.
The Situation Room meeting is part of the overall
objective of Obama – as stated by the White House – to find
the "right strategy" which works in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Bureau Report
First Published: Monday, October 26, 2009, 12:17