Obama's speech on Afghanistan - Full Text

[seekers]

This is some part of obama's speech...obama has said lot more than this..not in favor of pakistan though

but not anything in Indian favor. very gloomy situation for indians

 

[Spring Onion]

Oh come on guys, its realy wasting the bandwidth as Indians are posting Obama's speech in pieces suiting their agenda and Pakistani members are doing the same.

I think one thread is enough with full text of Obama's speech which is already posted.

 

[Bushy]

"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."

Washington post

Is this statement is admittance of wrong policy in the past ??

It is merely the acknowledgment of previous policies to assert the relevance of current policies in current times. It in no way means that the US's previous policies had any shortcomings, or are looked down upon, or were wrong in any way.

The previous policies were good for those times, and now when the times have changed, new policies are devised for newer purposes.

Today if Japan is one of the closest allies, then it in no way undermines their previous decision of nuking Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Times change, people change, and so the policies have to change!

 

[Wajahat_Ali]

but not anything in Indian favor. very gloomy situation for indians

his focus was more on AF-P@K policy..India has nothing to do with it

 

[Spring Onion]

his focus was more on AF-P@K policy..India has nothing to do with it

Then why Indians are more interested have nice sleep nothing is going to happen

 

[Solomon2]

we cannot tolerate a safe-haven for terrorists whose location is known, and whose intentions are clear

In case somebody missed it, that's a threat: Obama has declared the U.S. will act unilaterally on Pakistani soil if GoP doesn't adequately cooperate in short order.

 

[XYON]

"We will strengthen Pakistan’s capacity to target those groups that threaten our countries, and have made it clear that we cannot tolerate a safe-haven for terrorists whose location is known, and whose intentions are clear..."

I know that PAFAce and others resent our "conspiracy theory" regarding OBL, Omar, Haqqani, Hekmatyar, Nazir, and Bahadur but it seems clear from the above comment that the President knows otherwise.

If America failed to take out OBL in early 2002 before escaping into Pakistan, we can fairly ask to whom responsibility falls in the subsequent eight years.

Nothing in this speech really alters matters decisively. There will be no decisive victory but there can be a decisive defeat. There will be a troop increase. If conditions on the ground permit, there will be a troop withdrawal beginning in July 2011. Left unsaid was if conditions don't improve we may withdraw in any case. Doing so in that manner would constitute defeat.

Pakistanis are paying the price of your SHEER INCOMPETENCY (Deliberate or Inadvertent, ask CIA) in 2002, Tora Bora. OBL is still your problem not ours! We have to deal with the mentally challenged swines in Swat and SWA which we have done well so far unlike your fancy-boot gringo's in Afghanistan. Your are occupying Afghanistan as a foreign force. OBL, Mullah Omer have the right to kick your butt outta there! So fair and square the ONUS OF THE ENTIRE MESS LIES ON YOUR BROAD BUT HOLLOW SHOULDERS!

 

[XYON]

In case somebody missed it, that's a threat: Obama has declared the U.S. will act unilaterally on Pakistani soil if GoP doesn't adequately cooperate in short order.

Yeah Right! We have already heard that UNILATERAL mantra before. However, if it exceeds beyond the unwanted leash what we have already allowed you to do (Drone Attacks, Blackwater presence etc) to actual boots on the ground in any place near major Pakistani cities, then Afghanistan will look like more like a sweet dream to you and your US administration! So CAN the patronage and keep your butt where it belongs and is being kicked by sandal-wearing Afghans!

 

[seekers]

Oh come on guys, its realy wasting the bandwidth as Indians are posting Obama's speech in pieces suiting their agenda and Pakistani members are doing the same.

I think one thread is enough with full text of Obama's speech which is already posted.

This is not a part of last speech. This is fresh statement

 

[asq]

why Pakistan does not learn from experiences, Pakistan must start to to trust power of its people, only if it has the ability to tap it.

one area is commodities and Pakistan is not short of them, only that it is being smuggled into Afghanistan and India. If it is done the proper export way as other countries do it, Pakistan will have abundant of foreign exchange and will than do the things it need to do.

Dependence on others is not a good policy, they can and will withdraw their support when we need the most, we must remember 1965 war and withdrawal of support.

So we have the talents and the will and most of all wonderful manpower, only if we knew how to use it for our own benefits.

If some of our citizen can do unthinkable thing of suicide bombing, than we can and we should use that kind of commitment to advance our goals without any problem, remember no one in this world can sacrifice for a belief than Pakistanis can, only if we had the gutsy leaders to use it for our goodness and progress by teaching these people how to use this commitment for peaceful purpose.

 

[Solomon2]

Yeah Right! We have already heard that UNILATERAL mantra before.

When Obama was a candidate, not president.

However, if it exceeds beyond the unwanted leash what we have already allowed you to do (Drone Attacks, Blackwater presence etc) to actual boots on the ground in any place near major Pakistani cities -

So that's why you're afraid of Blackwater! Probably too late, you know.

 

[SSGPA1]

The Afghan-Pakistan Solution
An exit strategy must be predicated on achieving military and political goals, not dictated by time limits.

By PERVEZ MUSHARRAF​

My recent trip to the United States has been an enriching experience, during which I had a very healthy discourse with the American public and an opportunity to understand their concerns about the war in Afghanistan. One question I was asked almost everywhere I went was, "How can we stop losing?"

The answer is a political surge, in conjunction with the additional troops requested by Gen. Stanley McChrystal. Quitting is not an option.

A military solution alone cannot guarantee success. Armies can only win sometimes, and at best, create an environment for the political process to work. At the end of the day, it is civilians, not soldiers, who have to take charge of their country.

After decades of civil war and anarchy, the Taliban established control over 95% of Afghanistan in 1996. Unfortunately, the Taliban imposed their strict interpretation of Islam on the country. Nevertheless, I proposed to recognize the Taliban regime, in the hope of transforming them from within. Had my strategy been enacted, we might have persuaded the Taliban to deny a safe haven to al Qaeda and avoided the tragic 9/11 attacks.

Another golden opportunity to rescue the Afghan people emerged after the United Nations sanctioned international military operation launched after 9/11. Having liberated Afghanistan from the tyranny of al Qaeda and Taliban, the U.S. had the unequivocal support of the majority of Afghans. The establishment of a truly representative national government which gave proportional representation to all ethnic groups—including the majority Pashtuns—would have brought peace to Afghanistan and ousted al Qaeda once and for all. Unfortunately this did not happen.

The political instability and ethnic imbalance in Afghanistan after 9/11 marginalized the majority Pashtuns and pushed them into the Taliban fold, even though they were not ideological supporters of the Taliban. The blunder of inducting 80,000 troops of Tajiks into the Afghan national army further alienated the Pashtuns.

Meanwhile, Pakistan forcefully tackled the influx of al Qaeda into our tribal areas, capturing over 600 al Qaeda and Afghan Taliban leaders, some of them of very high value. We established 1,000 border checkposts and even offered to mine or fence off the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, but this never came to pass. The Afghan government, led by President Hamid Karzai, had no writ outside of Kabul, and the insufficient ground troops of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) allowed the Taliban to regroup. The 2004 invasion of Iraq shifted the focus and also contributed to the Taliban gaining ground in Afghanistan.

Al Qaeda terrorists who fled from Afghanistan came to Pakistan and settled initially in South Waziristan. Through successful intelligence and law-enforcement operations, we eliminated al Qaeda from our cities and destroyed their command, communication and propaganda centers. They fled to the adjoining North Waziristan, Bajur and Swat regions.

From 2004 onwards, we witnessed a gradual shift in the terrorist center of gravity. The Taliban started to re-emerge in Afghanistan and gradually gained a dominant role. They developed ties with the Taliban in Pakistan's tribal areas, especially in North and South Waziristan. With a grand strategy to destabilize the whole region, the Taliban and al Qaeda established links with extremists in Pakistani society on the one hand and with Muslim fundamentalists in India on the other. They pose a grave threat to South Asia and peace in the world.

We now have to deal with a complex situation. Casualties suffered by our soldiers in the line of duty will not go wasted only if we are able to fully secure our next generations from the menace of terrorism. The exit strategy from Afghanistan must not and cannot be time related. It has to ask, "What effect do we want to create on the ground?" We must eliminate al Qaeda, dominate the Taliban militarily, and establish a representative, legitimate government in Afghanistan.

The military must ensure that we deal with insurgents from a position of strength. The dwindling number of al Qaeda elements must be totally eliminated, and the Taliban have to be dominated militarily. We must strengthen border-control measures with all possible means to isolate the militants on the Afghanistan and Pakistan sides.

The Pakistan military must continue to act strongly. Operationally, we must raise substantially more forces from within the tribal groups and equip them with more tanks and guns. On the Afghan side, the U.S. and ISAF troops must be reinforced. All of this must be done in combination with raising additional Afghan National Army troops, with significant Pashtun representation. Exploiting tribal divisions, we should also raise local militias.

On the political front, we need an invigorated dialogue with all groups in Afghanistan, including the Taliban. Afghanistan for centuries has been governed loosely through a social covenant between all the ethnic groups, under a sovereign king. This structure is needed again to bring peace and harmony. We have to reach out to Pashtun tribes and others who do not ideologically align themselves with the Taliban or al Qaeda. I have always said that "all Talibans are Pashtun, but all Pashtuns are not Taliban." Pakistan and Saudi Arabia can play pivotal roles in facilitating this outreach.

Pakistan and Afghanistan were shortsightedly abandoned to their fate by the West in 1989, in spite of the fact that they were the ones who won a victory for the Free World against the Soviet Union. This abandonment lead to a sense of betrayal amongst the people of the region. For the sake of regional and world peace, let us not repeat the same mistake.

Mr. Musharraf is a former president (2001-2008) and chief of army staff (1998-2007) of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

Pervez Musharraf: The Afghan-Pakistan Solution - WSJ.com

 

[XYON]

When Obama was a candidate, not president.


So that's why you're afraid of Blackwater! Probably too late, you know.

Afraid of Blackwater????!!!!

 

[SSGPA1]

Obama's full speech and other commenst are posted in this thread:

http://www.defence.pk/forums/strate...-afghan-strategy-serious-impact-pakistan.html

I would suggest discussing in that thread as it is in the correct section.

 

[arya]

It will be interesting to see what actually come out of bag in terms of building "mutual trust"??

u mean more ZAKAT