On March 27, 2009, President Obama, flanked by
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of
Defense Robert Gates, announced his new strategy toward
the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Below are the video
of his announcement and the text of President Obama's
announcement.
Video of President Obama's announcement of his new
Afghanistan War Strategy on March 27, 2009
Text of President Barack Obama's announcement of
a new strategy on the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan
from March 27, 2009.
Friday, March 27, 2009; 10:46 AM
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Good morning. Please be
seated.
Before I begin today, let me acknowledge, first of
all, Your Excellencies, all the ambassadors who are in
attendance. I also want to acknowledge both the civilians
and our military personnel that are about to be deployed
to the region. And I am very grateful to all of you for
your extraordinary work.
I want to acknowledge General David Petraeus, who's
here, and has been doing an outstanding job at CENTCOM.
We appreciate him. I want to thank Bruce Riedel. Bruce is
down at the end here, who has worked extensively on our
strategic review.
I want to acknowledge Carl Eikenberry, who's here, and
is our ambassador designate to Afghanistan, and to my
national security team. Thanks for their outstanding
work.
Today, I'm announcing a comprehensive new strategy for
Afghanistan Pakistan. And this marks the conclusion of
careful policy review led by Bruce that I ordered as soon
as I took office. My administration has heard from our
military commanders as well as our diplomats. We
consulted with the Afghan and Pakistani governments, with
our partners, and our NATO allies and with other donors
and international organizations. We've also worked
closely with members of Congress here at home.
And now I'd like to speak clearly and candidly to the
American people. The situation is increasingly perilous.
It's been more than seven years since the Taliban was
removed from power yet war rages on and insurgents
control parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Attacks
against our troops, our NATO allies, and the Afghanistan
government has risen steadily.
And, most painfully, 2008 was the deadliest year of
the war for American forces. Many people in the United
States and many in partner country that have sacrifices
so much have a simple question. What is our purpose in
Afghanistan? Of so many years, they ask why do our men
and women still fight and die there? They deserve a
straightforward answer.
So let me be clear. Al Qaida and its allies, the
terrorists who planned and supported the 9/11 attacks are
in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Multiple intelligence
estimates have warned that Al Qaida is actively planning
attacks on the United States homeland from its safe haven
in Pakistan. And if the Afghan government falls to the
Taliban or allows Al Qaida to go unchallenged, that
country will again be a base for terrorists who want to
kill as many of our people as they possibly can.
The future of Afghanistan is inextricably linked to
the future of its neighbor Pakistan. In the nearly eight
years since 9/11, Al Qaida and its extremist allies have
moved across the border to remote areas of the Pakistani
frontier. This almost certainly includes Al Qaida's
leadership, Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri. They
have used this mountainous terrain as a safe haven to
hide, to train terrorists, and communicate with
followers, to plot attacks, and to send fighters to
support the insurgency in Afghanistan.
For the American people, this border region has become
the most dangerous place in the world. But this is not
simply an American problem, far from it. It is, instead,
international security challenge of the highest
order.
Terrorist attacks in London, in Bali were tied to Al
Qaida and its allies in Pakistan as were attacks in North
Africa and the Middle East, in Islamabad and in Kabul. If
there is a major attack on an Asian, European, or African
city it, too, is likely to have ties to Al Qaida
leadership in Pakistan.
The safety of people around the world is at stake. For
the Afghan people, the return to Taliban rule would
condemn their country to brutal governance, international
isolation, a paralyzed economy, and the denial of basic
human rights to the Afghan people, especially, women and
girls.
A return in force of Al Qaida terrorists who would
accompany the core Taliban leadership would cast
Afghanistan under the shadow of perpetual violence.
OBAMA: As president, my greatest responsibility is to
protect the American people. We are not in Afghanistan to
control that country or to dictate its future. We are in
Afghanistan to confront a common enemy that threatens the
United States, our friends, and our allies and the people
of Afghanistan and Pakistan who have suffered the most at
the hands of violent extremists.
So I want the American people to understand that we
have a clear and focused goal to disrupt, dismantle, and
defeat Al Qaida in Pakistan and Afghanistan and to
prevent their return to either country in the future.
That's the goal that must be achieved. That is a cause
that could not be more just.
And to the terrorists who oppose us, my message is the
same. We will defeat you.
To achieve our goals, we need a stronger, smarter, and
comprehensive strategy. To focus on the greatest threat
to our people, America must no longer deny resources to
Afghanistan because of the war in Iraq. To enhance the
military, governance, and economic capacity of
Afghanistan and Pakistan, we have to marshal
international support. And to defeat an enemy that heeds
no border or laws of war, we must recognize the
fundamental connection between of future of Afghanistan
and Pakistan which is why I've appointed Ambassador
Richard Holbrooke, who is here, to serve as special
representative from both countries and work closely with
General Petraeus to integrate our civilian and military
efforts.
Let me start by addressing the way forward in
Pakistan. The United States has great respect for the
Pakistani people. They have a rich history and have
struggled against long odds to sustain their democracy.
The people of Pakistan want the same things that we want.
An end to terror, access to basic services, the
opportunity to live their dreams and the security that
can only come with the rule of law. The single greatest
threat to that future comes from Al Qaida and their
extremist allies. And that is why we must stand
together.
The terrorist within Pakistan's border are not simply
enemies of America or Afghanistan. They are a grave and
urgent danger to the people of Pakistan. Al Qaida and
other violent extremists have killed several thousand
Pakistanis since 9/11. They've killed many Pakistani
soldiers and police. They assassinated Benazir Bhutto.
They've blown up buildings, derailed foreign investment,
and threatened the stability of the state.
So make no mistake, Al Qaida and its extremist allies
are a cancer that risks killing Pakistan from within.
It's important for the American people to understand
that Pakistan needs our help in going after Al Qaida.
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 on military assistance on the tools,
training, and support that Pakistan needs to root out the
terrorists.
And after years of mixed results, we will not and
cannot provide a blank check. Pakistan must demonstrate
its commitment to rooting out Al Qaida and the violent
extremists within its borders.
We will insist that action be taken, one way or
another, when we have intelligence about high-level
terrorist targets. The government's ability to destroy
these safe havens is tied to its own strength and
security. To help Pakistan weather the economic crisis,
we must continue to work with the IMF, the World Bank,
and other international partners.
To lessen tensions between two nuclear-armed nations
that too often teeter on the edge of escalation and
confrontation, we must pursue constructive diplomacy with
both India and Pakistan. To avoid the mistakes of the
past, we must make clear that our relationship with
Pakistan is grounded in support for Pakistan's democratic
institutions and the Pakistani people.
And to demonstrate through deeds as well as words a
commitment that is enduring, we must stand for lasting
opportunity.
Now a campaign against extremism will not succeed with
bullets or bombs alone. Al Qaida offers the people of
Pakistan nothing but destruction. We stand for something
from the time.
So, today, I'm calling upon Congress to pass a
bipartisan bill co-sponsored by John Kerry and Richard
Lugar that authorizes $1.5 billion in direct support to
the Pakistani people every year over the next five years,
resources that will build schools, roads, and hospitals,
and strengthen Pakistan's democracy.
I'm also calling on Congress to pass a bipartisan bill
co- sponsored by Maria Cantwell and Chris Van Hollen and
Peter Hoekstra that creates opportunity zones in the
border regions to develop the economy and bring hope to
places plagued with violence.
And we will ask our friends and allies to do their
part, including, at the donors' conference in Tokyo next
month.
OBAMA: I don't ask for this support lightly. These are
challenging times. Resources are stretched. But the
American people must understand that this is a down
payment on our own future because the security of
American and Pakistan is shared. Pakistan's government
must be a stronger partner in destroying these safe
havens, and we must isolate Al Qaida from the Pakistani
people.
These steps in Pakistan are also indispensable to our
efforts in Afghanistan which will see no end to violence
if insurgents move freely back and forth across the
border. Security demands a new sense of shared
responsibility, and that's why we will launch a standing,
trilateral dialogue among the United States, Afghanistan,
and Pakistan.
Our nations will meet regularly with Secretaries
Clinton and Secretary Gates leading our effort. Together,
we must enhance intelligence sharing and military
cooperation along the border while addressing issues of
common certain like trade, energy, and economic
development.
This is just one part of a comprehensive strategy to
prevent Afghanistan from becoming the Al Qaida safe haven
that it was before 9/11. To succeed, we and our friends
and allies must reverse the Taliban's gains and promote a
more capable and accountable Afghan government.
Our troops have fought bravely against a ruthless
enemy. Our civilians have made great sacrifices. Our
allies have born a heavy burden. Afghans have suffered
and sacrifices for their future. But for six years,
Afghanistan has been denied the resources that it demands
because of the war in Iraq.
Now, we must make a commitment that can accomplish our
goals. I've already ordered the deployment of 17,000
troops that have been requested by General McKiernan for
many months. These soldiers and Marines will take the
fight to the Taliban in the south and the east and give
us a great capacity to partner with Afghan security
forces and to go after insurgents along the border.
This push will also help provide security in advance
of the important presidential elections in Afghanistan in
August. At the same time, 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. For three years, our commanders have been clear
about the resources they need for training. And those
resources have been denied because of the war in Iraq.
Now, that will change.
The additional troops that we deployed have already
increased our training capacity. And later this spring,
we will deploy approximately 4,000 U.S. troops to train
Afghan security forces. For the first time, this will
truly resource our effort to train and support the Afghan
army and police.
Every American unit in Afghanistan will be partnered
with an Afghan unit, and we will seek additional trainers
from our NATO allies to ensure that every Afghan unit has
a coalition partner. We will accelerate our efforts to
build an Afghan army of 134,000 and a police for the of
82,000 so that we can meet these goals by 2011.
And increases in Afghan forces may very well be needed
as our plans to turn over security responsibility to the
Afghans go forward. This push must be joined by a
dramatic increase in our civilian effort. Afghanistan has
an elected government, but it is undermined by corruption
and has difficulty delivering basic services to its
people.
The economy is undercut by a booming narcotics trade
that encouraged criminality and funds insurgency. The
people of Afghanistan seek the promise of a better future
and, one again, we've seen the hope of a new day darkened
by violence and uncertainty.
So to advance security, opportunity, and justice, not
just in Kabul but from the bottom up in the provinces, we
need agricultural specialists and educators, engineers
and lawyers. That's how we can help the Afghan government
serve its people and develop an economy that isn't
dominated by elicit drugs.
And that's why I'm ordering a substantial increase in
our civilians on the ground. That's also why we must seek
civilian support from our partners and allies from the
United Nations and the international aid organizations.
An effort that Secretary Clinton will carry forward next
week in The Hague.
OBAMA: At a time of economic crisis, it's tempting to
believe that we can short change the civilian effort. But
make no mistake, our efforts will fail in Afghanistan and
Pakistan if we don't invest in their future. And that's
why my budget includes indispensable investments in our
State Department and foreign assistance programs.
These investments relieve the burden on our troops.
They contribute directly to security. They make the
American people safer. And they save us an enormous
amount of money in the long run because it's far cheaper
to train a policeman to secure his or her own village
that to help a farmer seed a crop or to help a farmer
seed a crop than it is to send our troops to fight tour
after tour of duty with no transition to Afghan
responsibility.
As we provide these resources, the days of
unaccountable spending, no-bid contracts, and wasteful
reconstruction must end. So my budget will increase
funding for a strong inspector general at both State
Department and USAID and include robust funding for
special inspector generals for Afghan reconstruction.
I want to be clear. We cannot turn a blind eye to the
corruption that causes Afghans to lose faith in their own
leaders. Instead, we will seek a new compact with the
Afghan government to cracks down on corrupt behavior and
sets clear benchmarks, clear metrics for international
assistance so that it's used to provide for the needs of
the Afghan people.
In a country with extreme poverty that's been at war
for decades, there will also be no peace without
reconciliation among former enemies. Now, I have no
illusion that this will be easy.
In Iraq, we had success in reaching out to former
adversaries to isolate and target Al Qaida in Iraq. We
must pursue a similar process in Afghanistan while
understanding that it is a very different country. There
is an uncompromising core of the Taliban. They must be
met with force, and they must be defeated.
But there are also those who've taken up arms because
of coercion or simply for a price. These Afghans must
have the option to choose a different course. That's why
we will work with local leaders, the Afghan government,
and international partners to have a reconciliation
process in every province. As their ranks dwindle, an
enemy that has nothing to offer the Afghan people but
terror and repression must be further isolated.
And we will continue to support the basic human rights
of all Afghans including women and girls. Going forward,
we will not blinded stay the course. Instead, we will set
clear metrics to measure progress and hold ourselves
accountable. We'll consistently assess our efforts to
train Afghan security forces and our progress in
combating insurgents.
We will measure the growth of Afghanistan's economy
and its elicit narcotics production. And we will review
whether we are using the right tools and tactics to make
progress towards accomplishing our goals.
None of the steps that I've outlined will be easy.
None should be taken by America alone. The world cannot
afford the price that will come due if Afghanistan slides
back into chaos or Al Qaida operates unchecked.
We have a shared responsibility to act not because we
seek to project power to its own sake but because our own
peace and security depends on it. And what's at stake at
this time is not just our own security; it's the very
idea that free nations can come together on behalf of our
common security. That was the founding cause of NATO six
decades ago, and that must be our common purpose
today.
My administration is committed to strengthening
international organizations and collective action, and
that will be my message next week in Europe. As America
does more, we will ask others to join us in doing their
part. From our partners and NATO allies, we will seek not
simply troops but rather clearly defined capabilities
supporting the Afghan elections, training Afghan security
forces, a greater civilian commitment to the Afghan
people.
For the United Nations, we seek greater progress for
its mandate to coordinate international action and
assistance and to strengthen Afghan institutions. And,
finally, together with the United Nations, we will forge
a new contact group for Afghanistan and Pakistan that
brings together all who should have a stake in the
security of the region, our NATO allies and other
partners, but also the Central Asian states, the Gulf
nations and Iran, Russia, India, and China.
None of these nations benefit from a base for Al Qaida
terrorists. And a region that descends into chaos all
have a stake in the promise of lasting piece and security
and development. That is true, above all, for the
coalition that has fought together in Afghanistan side by
side with Afghans.
OBAMA: Now, the sacrifices have been enormous. Nearly
700 Americans have lost their lives. Troops from over 20
countries have also paid the ultimate price. All
Americans honor the service and cherish the friendship of
those who have fought and worked and bled by our
side.
And all Americans are awed by the service of our own
men and women in uniform who have born a burden as great
as any other generations. They and their families embody
the example of selfless sacrifice.
I remind everybody the United States of America did
not choose to fight a war in Afghanistan. Nearly 3,000 of
our people were killed on September 11, 2001 for doing
nothing for than going about their daily lives. Al Qaida
and its allies have since killed thousands of people in
many countries. Most of the blood on their hands is the
blood of Muslims who Al Qaida has killed and maimed in
far greater number than any other people.
That is the future that Al Qaida is offering to the
people of Pakistan and Afghanistan, a future without hope
or opportunity, a future without justice or peace. So
understand the road ahead will be long, and there will be
difficult days ahead. But we will seek lastly
partnerships with Afghanistan and Pakistan that promise a
new day for their people.
And we will use all elements of our national power to
defeat Al Qaida and to defend America, our allies, and
all who seek a better future because the United States of
America stand for peace and security, justice and
opportunity. That is who we are, and that is what history
calls on us to do once more.
Thank you. God bless you. God bless the United States
of America.
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information on the decades-long warfare and
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border.
Israeli-Palestinian
Conflict--*New*--Background
information on the long-running warfare between
Israel and the Palestinians!
Israeli-Palestinian
Battles and
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terrorist attacks, and retaliations between Israel
and the Palestinians!
Waziristan
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Hamas----The
terrorist/resistance group now ruling the
Palestinian Authority!
