Obama hails unity over al-Qaeda

[The Minx]

Link

US President Barack Obama has said after meeting his Afghan and Pakistani counterparts that they are united in the goal of defeating al-Qaeda.

He appeared before reporters flanked by Afghanistan's Hamid Karzai and Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan after the three men held a summit in Washington.

The goal was to "disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaeda" and its extremist allies, Mr Obama said.

He also pledged greater resources to help civilians in both countries.

Dozens of civilians are thought to have died in US air strikes in the west of Afghanistan on Tuesday, prompting President Karzai to raise the issue during his visit.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said earlier she "deeply, deeply" regretted the deaths. She said the US would work hard to avoid such "loss of innocent life".

'Solid support'

Mr Obama said his counterparts fully appreciated the gravity of the security threats posed by militants.

America, he said, was on the side of people in Pakistan and Afghanistan and had a comprehensive strategy for the region, with civilian and military components.

He said he expected more setbacks and violence to come, but there was a lasting commitment to defeat al-Qaeda.

The US would, he added, offer unwavering support to the governments of both Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Mr Obama's long-term aim, the BBC's Kevin Connolly in Washington says, is to bring stability to both countries by defeating the Taleban threat which straddles the mountainous border that divides them.

Senior US officials have expressed uncertainty over the commitment of the military in Pakistan, a nuclear power, to defeating militants based in its border region.

The US special representative in the region, Richard Holbrooke, recently reiterated the US conviction that combating the rise of militancy there was crucial to the US's security at home.

Mr Obama has already announced an extra 4,000 US personnel to train and bolster the Afghan army and police - in addition to the 17,000 troops who will be re-deployed to join 38,000 US forces already on the ground.

I guess we'll see whether this is more than just words. :/

[frigidmagi]

Obama is at least backing it up with troops. We'll see what Pakistan does. I'll bet not much.