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KATY CLARK: I'm Katy Clark and this is The World. The situation in Afghanistan is increasingly perilous. That's the assessment today from President Barack Obama. As if to illustrate that point there are reports today that an Afghan soldier shot dead two U.S. troops and then killed himself. President Obama's team has been working on a new policy for Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan. And today Mr. Obama outlined what he called a new way forward in that region. We'll hear about reaction from Afghanistan and Pakistan in a few minutes. But first, The World's Matthew Bell has this report on the president's new strategy.
MATTHEW BELL The president who was elected on a promise to end one war says winning another war is his top priority.
BARACK OBAMA: So, I want the American people to understand that we have a clear and focused goal: to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat Al-Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and to prevent their return to either country in the future.
BELL: Barack Obama said the United States did not invade Afghanistan by choice in 2001. But things have not gone well since then. He said resources for Afghanistan have been diverted to Iraq. And what's needed now is a stronger, smarter and more comprehensive strategy. The changes Mr. Obama announced today are the fruits of a strategic review process that began the week he was inaugurated. They include the president's plan to send an additional 17-thousand U.S. combat troops to Afghanistan. And 4-thousand military trainers to help build up the Afghan army and police.
OBAMA: We will shift the emphasis of our mission to training and increasing the size of Afghan security forces so that they can eventually take the lead in securing their country. That's how we will prepare Afghans to take responsibility for their security and how we will ultimately be able to bring our own troops home.
BELL: This is something US military commanders have been asking for. The president said those 4-thousand advisors to be deployed this spring will mean that US training efforts in Afghanistan will be fully staffed for the first time. And he has set a benchmark for success.
OBAMA: We will accelerate our efforts to build an Afghan army of one hundred and thirty-four thousand and a police force of eighty-two thousand so that we can meet these goals by twenty eleven.
BELL: The president mentioned other benchmarks for growing Afghanistan's economy and curtailing its narcotics trade. Mr. Obama plans to boost economic aid and development assistance, and he wants hundreds of additional civilian personnel for Afghanistan. But one point he emphasized throughout his speech today is that success in Afghanistan depends in large part on the situation in Pakistan. Mr. Obama said Al Qaeda's leaders and their Taliban allies aren't just destabilizing Afghanistan. They're threatening Pakistan as well.
OBAMA: It's important for the American people to understand that Pakistan needs our help in going after Al-Qaeda. This is no simple task. The tribal regions are vast, they are rugged, and they are often ungoverned. And that's why we must focus our military assistance on the tools, training, and support that Pakistan needs to root out the terrorists.
BELL: The president called on Congress to approve 1.5 billion dollars in non-military funding for Pakistan. But he suggested that money will come with strings attached.
OBAMA: We will not and cannot provide a blank check. Pakistan must demonstrate its commitment to rooting out Al-Qaeda and the violent extremists within its borders. And we will insist that action be taken, one way or another, when we have intelligence about high level terrorist targets.
BELL: That's a hint U.S. missile strikes inside Pakistan will continue. Despite the fact that Pakistani officials have complained about them as destabilizing because they fuel anti-American - and anti-government - public sentiment. Daniel Markey is a South Asia expert with Council on Foreign Relations.
DANIEL MARKEY: The Pakistan side of the story is, by far, the harder piece. In Afghanistan, you know, we're fighting an insurgency. In Pakistan it's like fighting an insurgency at arm's length. The nature of the relationship with Pakistani government, the Pakistani military, and intelligence has always been somewhat troubled and frustrating. And, so, it makes everything that much harder.
BELL: For example, Markey says boosting non-military economic aid for Pakistan is a good idea. But it's tough for the US to make sure that money is well spent. Looking at Pakistan and Afghanistan as interconnected challenge for the US and its allies is the key to the Obama administration's new strategy, says Nathaniel Fick of the Center for a New American Security. But he says the additional troops are probably just a beginning.
NATHANIEL FICK: The number of forces that are being sent to Afghanistan are probably not sufficient to actually win the war there. The bet is that they are sufficient to begin changing the trajectory of that war and the momentum of the war.
BELL: Right now, Fick says, the consensus is that things are not going well in Afghanistan. And today's announcement from president Obama is an attempt to begin to turn the corner. For The World, I'm Matthew Bell.
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