Obama sets Qaeda defeat as top goal in Afghanistan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama unveiled a new war strategy for Afghanistan on Friday with one goal -- to wipe out al Qaeda militants there and in neighboring Pakistan who he said were plotting new attacks on the United States.
Obama said the U.S. military in Afghanistan would shift the emphasis of its mission to training and expanding the Afghan army so that it could take the lead in securing the country and allow U.S. troops to return home.
The new strategy comes with violence in Afghanistan at its highest level since U.S.-led forces ousted the Taliban in 2001 for sheltering al Qaeda leaders behind the September 11 attacks. The Islamist militia has escalated its attacks, often operating from safe havens in tribal border regions of Pakistan....