Washington - US President Barack Obama announced Tuesday that he is deploying 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan to step up the fight against Taliban insurgents and forge conditions needed to transfer security responsibility to the Afghan government. The buildup is expected to be completed this summer, and Obama said he is setting a July 2011 goal to begin withdrawals, based on "conditions on the ground" and to maintain pressure on the Afghan government to act swiftly to take responsibility for the country.
Obama pledged to strengthen the US relationship with Pakistan, saying that Islamist extremism is "a common enemy" of Washington and Islamabad.
He said that for several years Afghanistan has "moved backwards" as the Taliban movement has regained momentum.
"The status quo is not sustainable," Obama said in his speech at the US Military Academy at West Point in New York to outline his new strategy for Afghanistan.
Obama said the goal of the surge is to deny al-Qaeda a safe haven to plan and carry out terrorist attacks and to reverse the momentum gained by the Taliban the last few years. Obama said he will urge NATO and other allies to likewise contribute more troops.
"Some have already provided additional troops, and we are confident that there will be further contributions in the days and weeks ahead," he said.
A senior administration official told reporters earlier Tuesday that NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen will announce an expanded NATO contribution after a conference Friday in Brussels. He did not provide a figure, but media reports have pegged the number at 5,000.
Obama warned recently re-elected Afghan President Hamid Karzai that his government must work to improve the country and that Kabul does not have the unconditional support of the United States.
The United States along with the United Nations and NATO allies will continue to help the Afghan government provide better services for its citizens and build up security forces, but Karzai must live up to his obligations including ending corruption.
"This effort must be based on performance," Obama said. "The days of providing a blank check are over."
He welcomed Karzai's commitment last month to fighting corruption. But Obama cautioned: "Going forward, we will be clear about what we expect from those who receive our assistance."
He said that the United States will continue to assist the Pakistani military and help Islamabad build a viable economy and democratic institutions.
"In the past, there have been those in Pakistan who have argued that the struggle against extremism is not their fight, and that Pakistan is better off doing little or seeking accommodation with those who use violence," Obama said.
"But in recent years, as innocents have been killed from Karachi to Islamabad, it has become clear that it is the Pakistani people who are the most endangered by extremism."
Obama outlined his new strategy for the conflict in Afghanistan, which is closely linked to militant movements in Pakistan. Obama called the area along the Afghan-Pakistani border the "epicentre of the violent extremism practiced by al-Qaeda."
"In the past, we too often defined our relationship with Pakistan narrowly," he said. "Those days are over. Moving forward, we are committed to a partnership with Pakistan that is built on a foundation of mutual interests, mutual respect and mutual trust."
