New approach to US ‘war on terror’
Inside Story asks what Obama’s new Afghanistan strategy will mean for the region?
It is no longer the US ‘war on terror’; the new name is Overseas Emergency Operations.
On Friday, Barack Obama, the US president, unveiled his new strategy for Pakistan and Afghanistan and defined what he expected to achieve in the region.
Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan’s president, praised the review’s focus on countering militant activity in Pakistan, the allocation of more resources and attention to winning hearts and minds in the region, and the US offer to Iran of a role in seeking a political solution.
Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan’s president, also welcomed Washington’s new strategy.
But is this new approach an honorable exit strategy or an admission that it takes more than weapons alone to defeat the Taliban and al-Qaeda?
Inside Story with guests Cheryl Benard, a senior analyst at the Rand Corporation, Ahmed Quraishi, a Pakistan affairs analyst, and Khalid Pashtun, an Afghan politician and former governor of Kandahar, discusses.
This episode of Inside Story aired on Sunday, March 29, 2009.