Wire: Obama Focusing On al-Qaida, Not Taliban

Off the Wire:

Obama said to be unlikely to approve the recommended troop increase.

EDITOR'S COMMENT: If, as an AP source has said, President Barack Obama is now focusing on al-Qaida, and not on the Taliban, the question must be asked: What about al-Qaida in Iraq? How do we rationalize Obama's political position against the Iraq war, a war that al-Qaida leaders have repeatedly stated was the front line of operations against the United States?

WASHINGTON, Oct. 8, 2009 -- Newswire services this afternoon reported that a senior administration official says President Barack Obama is prepared to accept the Taliban's involvement in Afghanistan's political process and is inclined to send only enough U.S. troops to Afghanistan as are needed to keep al-Qaida at bay.

The assessment comes from an official who has been involved in the president's discussions about Afghanistan strategy. The official was authorized by the White House to speak to The Associated Press about the discussions but not to be identified by name.

Aides say the president's final decision on Afghanistan strategy and troop levels is still at least two weeks away, but the emerging thinking suggests he would be unlikely to favor a large military ramp-up of the kind being advocated by his top commander in Afghanistan.

See link below for details.

(Report from newswire sources.)

Source: AP source: Obama focusing on al-Qaida, not Taliban