OBAMA and Operation in Pakistan

Mr Obama talked of operations across the border in Pakistan, where he said the Pakistani government had pushed "violent extremists out of their sanctuaries".
(Taliban)

"We have struck blows against al-Qaeda's leadership as well as the Taliban's," he said.

"They are hunkered down. They are worried about their own safety. It's harder for them to move and to train and to plot and to attack.

"All of that makes America safer and we are going to keep them on the run."

In the 14 months since he took office, Mr Obama has almost doubled American forces in Afghanistan.

US troops are now leading a massive military operation to push Taliban militants from their stronghold in the south of the country.

The BBC's Steve Kingstone in Washington says Mr Obama's visit comes at a time when he has momentum domestically because he has just signed a new healthcare reform bill into law and agreed a new nuclear arms reduction treaty with Moscow.

The White House clearly wanted to build on that momentum and say that this is a president who can deal with more than one big issue at once, our correspondent says.

Also, there is an impression that US efforts in Afghanistan may be turning a corner, he adds, prompting a cautious sense of optimism.

Invitation to Karzai

At a joint press conference in the heavily guarded presidential palace, Mr Karzai thanked Mr Obama for US support and said he hoped the partnership would continue.


source:BBC