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WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 30, 2009) - President
Barack Obama today announced the outcome of his administration's
Afghanistan-Pakistan policy review, calling for increased aid to
both countries and a need for more civilian and international
support.
"Security demands a new sense of shared responsibility," Obama
said in an address from the Eisenhower Executive Office Building
here. "Together, we must enhance intelligence sharing and military
cooperation along the [Afghan-Pakistan] border, while addressing
issues of common concern like trade, energy and economic
development."
Obama said the future of Afghanistan is "inextricably" linked to
the future of Pakistan, as al-Qaida and other extremists have moved
freely across the two countries' shared border since 9/11, planning
attacks and training. He called the border region "the most
dangerous place in the world" for the American people, but added
that the issue is "an international security challenge of the
highest order."
"The safety of people around the world is at stake," the
president said, noting that terrorist attacks in London, Bali,
Islamabad and Algeria over the past two decades were all tied to
al-Qaida elements and safe havens in Pakistan.
"It is important for the American people to understand that
Pakistan needs our help in going after al-Qaida," he continued.
"[Pakistan's] ability to destroy these safe havens is tied to its
own strength and security."
The weakness of Pakistan's central government and waning economy
is indirectly responsible for al-Qaida's ability to harbor and
operate safe havens along the border region. The review calls for
Congress to authorize $1.5 billion in support for the Pakistan
people annually over a five-year course to build schools, roads and
hospitals to strengthen the country's democracy, Obama said.
Also, the review calls for Congress to pass a bill that creates
"opportunity zones" in the border regions "to develop the economy
and bring hope to places plagued by violence," he added. "A
campaign against extremism will not succeed with bullets or bombs
alone.
"I do not ask for this support lightly," he continued. "These
are challenging times, and resources are stretched, but the
American people must understand that this is a down payment on our
own future."
On Afghanistan's side of the border, Obama said the United
States and partner nations must prevent the country from becoming
the safe haven it was prior to 9/11. The gains of the resurgent
Taliban over the past year must be reversed. Allied forces must
"promote a more capable and accountable Afghan government," he
said.
Ground commanders in Afghanistan have expressed the need for
additional resources for more than three years, and with the
drawdown of forces in Iraq, those resources are now available. The
additional 17,000 U.S. soldiers and Marines he authorized for
Afghanistan last month will impact greatly, Obama said.
Those resources, according to the new strategy, will support an
emphasized shift in the Afghanistan mission to focus efforts on
increasing the size and capacity of the Afghan army and police with
training, he said. Although, more U.S. resources and troops are
available for the Afghan mission now, Obama stressed the importance
of the Afghan security forces eventually taking the lead in their
own country.
"That is how we will prepare the Afghans to take responsibility
for their security, and how we will ultimately be able to bring our
troops home," he said.
The president said that in late spring, after the first wave of
U.S. reinforcements hit the ground, the effort to train Afghan
police and army units will be fully resourced for the first time
since combat operations began there in 2001. He said every American
unit will be partnered with an Afghan army or police unit, and that
additional support has been requested for NATO trainers.
Obama said he hopes those efforts will grow the Afghan army from
82,000 to 134,000 as well as increase the size of the police to
82,000 by 2011. These increases may very well be needed, he added,
as the United States and NATO work on plans to turn over security
responsibilities to the Afghans.
The increase in troops and military resources must be
accompanied by civilian efforts, too, including State Department
personnel and the U.S. Agency for International Development as well
as their NATO and international counterparts. Afghanistan's
government is democratically elected but plagued by corruption,
while the economy remains undercut by narcotics trade, he said.
Obama called for agricultural specialists, educators, engineers
and lawyers to come forward to help the Afghan government serve its
people and develop its economy. His fiscal 2010 budget request
includes "indispensible" investments in the State Department and
foreign assistance programs. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham
Clinton will lead this effort, he said.
"Make no mistake. Our efforts will fail in Afghanistan and
Pakistan if we don't invest in their future," he said. "[Civilian
experts] contribute directly to security. They make the American
people safer, and they save us an enormous amount of money in the
long run."
Obama said the new strategy and policy will set clear goals to
measure progress to maintain accountability. His administration
will "consistently" assess training and fighting efforts, he said,
adding that he will pay close attention to the changes in
Afghanistan's economy.
"We will review whether we are using the right tools and tactics
to make progress towards accomplishing our goals," he said.
The road to success and an end to the insurgency in Afghanistan
and Pakistan will be long and difficult. But a lasting partnership
with the two countries "serves the promise of a new day for their
people," he said.
"None of the steps I have outlined will be easy, and none should
be taken by America alone," he said. "We have a shared
responsibility to act. What's at stake now is not just our own
security -- it is the very idea that free nations can come together
on behalf or our common security."
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