Pentagon: Obama Unveils Afghan-Pakistan Strategy Review

News in Balance:

WASHINGTON, March 27, 2009 -- President Barack Obama unveiled the Afghanistan-Pakistan policy review today, calling the situation in the region "increasingly perilous."

The report, which Obama requested upon taking office in January, comprises input from U.S. military and diplomatic leaders, NATO and other allies, and non-government organizations, the president said during a news conference.

"It has been more than seven years since the Taliban was removed from power, yet war rages on, and insurgents control parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan," he said. "Attacks against our troops, our NATO allies, and the Afghan government have risen steadily. Most painfully, 2008 was the deadliest year of the war for American forces."

Obama spelled out the broad U.S. objectives: To disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al-Qaida in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and to prevent their return to either country in the future.

"That is the goal that must be achieved. That is a cause that could not be more just," he said. "And to the terrorists who oppose us, my message is the same: we will defeat you."

This is a developing story.

More to follow.

(Report from a U.S. Defense Department news release.)

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