PHOENIX – US president Barack Obama has called the conflict in Afghanistan “a war worth fighting” as he sought to stiffen US public support before an election there this week that will test his new strategy.
Mr Obama’s words were designed to prepare Americans for the long haul. US combat deaths have risen since he ordered a troop build-up to confront a resurgent Taliban and polls show public backing for the eight-year war has softened.
“The insurgency in Afghanistan didn’t just happen overnight and we won’t defeat it overnight,” Mr Obama said in a speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the largest US military veterans group. “This will not be quick nor easy.”
He described why he believed the Afghanistan policy he unveiled earlier this year was working and why the US must remain committed to stabilising the war-ravaged country.
“This is not a war of choice, this is a war of necessity,” the president said. “Those who attacked America on 9/11 are plotting to do so again. If left unchecked, the Taliban insurgency will mean an even larger safe haven from which al-Qaeda would plot to kill more Americans. So this is not only a war worth fighting, this is fundamental to the defence of our people.”
Since taking office, he has shifted focus from the more unpopular war in Iraq to Afghanistan as his top foreign-policy priority.
Mr Obama spoke as Afghans prepared to vote in a presidential election on Thursday that the Taliban, stronger than at any time since it was driven from power in 2001, has vowed to disrupt.
Securing the balloting will be a crucial test for Mr Obama’s strategy, which has rushed 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan this year. Despite the Obama administration’s unease with Afghan president Hamid Karzai, polls show him comfortably leading his nearest challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, but not by enough to avoid a run-off.
The new commander of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan, Gen Stanley McChrystal, will deliver a strategy assessment after the election. It comes as surging Taliban violence is exerting pressure on Washington to show results.
A recent CNN poll showed US public support for the war at a new low of 41 per cent, with 54 per cent opposed.
Mr Obama’s strategy has called for increased reconstruction aid as well as troops, but the effort to bring in more civilians to help rebuild has been slow. He has worked to draw neighbouring Pakistan into a regional crackdown on al-Qaeda and its Taliban allies.
Mr Obama said his strategy recognised that the insurgents had moved their bases to the remote, tribal areas of Pakistan.
He reiterated that the US was on track to “remove all our troops from Iraq by the end of 2011”.
During last year’s presidential campaign, Mr Obama had accused the Bush administration of being distracted by Iraq and neglecting Afghanistan.
Mr Obama addressed the Veterans of Foreign Wars a year ago when he was still a candidate and had to defend his credentials to serve as US commander-in-chief.
This time, the Democratic president received a polite but less-than-rousing reception from the group, which is known for conservative views. – (Reuters)