US President Barack Obama has said his new policy for Afghanistan will contain an exit strategy and include greater emphasis on economic development.
With violence rising ahead of elections in August, Mr Obama has already committed an extra 17,000 troops to Afghanistan, but yesterday stressed military force alone would not end the war.
‘What we can't do is think that just a military approach in Afghanistan is going to be able to solve our problems,’ he said in an interview with CBS's 60 Minutes.
‘So what we're looking for is a comprehensive strategy. And there's got to be an exit strategy ... There's got to be a sense that this is not perpetual drift.’
The interview gave a taste of what to expect from a comprehensive policy review on Afghanistan and Pakistan expected soon, and which officials have already said would include more coordination with other stakeholders than practised by the Bush Administration.
Analysts say Washington is going to have to engage in dialogue with Taliban elements, a point Mr Obama and Vice President Joe Biden have conceded recently, but in doing so will also have to juggle the competing interests of India and Pakistan.
Mr Obama has admitted the US and its allies are not winning in Afghanistan.
Other countries have about 30,000 soldiers helping the Kabul government under NATO and US command, but have mostly been reluctant to commit more forces.
Mr Obama said the ‘destabilising border’ between Afghanistan and Pakistan was a big military challenge.
Undertaking his first major trip abroad since taking office, Mr Obama meets NATO leaders at a 3-4 April summit in Strasbourg where Afghanistan troop levels will be high on the agenda.
