Obama discusses Afghan war
President Obama said after meeting with top U.S. military leaders Wednesday that targeting extremists would be a top priority for the armed forces in Afghanistan.
Obama met for nearly two hours with the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the secure Pentagon conference room known as Tank. He emerged to shake hands with troops and promised to increase the involvement of civilian U.S. government agencies to work on governance, agriculture, civil justice and other issues in Afghanistan. The pledge addresses a long-standing Pentagon complaint.
The meeting and Obama’s comments follow recent indications that the new administration intends to limit U.S. goals in Afghanistan while intensifying the military aspects of the war. Vice President Joe Biden, who accompanied Obama, said this week that U.S. forces would step up action to counter recent Taliban advances.
“Obviously, our efforts to continue to go after extremists that would do harm to the homeland is uppermost on our minds,” Obama said.
During his presidential campaign, Obama said he would meet with the Joint Chiefs of Staff soon after his inauguration to spell out their new mission to wind down the war in Iraq.
Obama made no policy announcements about Iraq, although White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Wednesday that the administration’s Iraq review was nearly finished.
Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said Obama did not issue any orders during the gathering, looking instead for a discussion of threats against the United States.
The Bush administration had advocated ways of developing democratic governance in Afghanistan. But in recent days, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, have pushed for more limited objectives under the new administration.
In his remarks, Obama said he would involve civilian agencies more deeply in the war effort.
“We had for a long time put enormous pressure on our military to carry out a whole set of missions,” Obama said, referring to nation-building functions. “And that’s something that I spoke with the chiefs about and that I intend to change.”
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