Obama predicts difficult fight ahead in Afghanistan

September 23rd, 2009 McCain: More troops needed in AfghanistanWASHINGTON — Sen. John McCain says more U.S.

August 18th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama has warned that the Taliban must be defeated in Afghanistan to avoid another 9/11-style attack. Obama was addressing veterans in Phoenix, Arizona, in the run-up to the presidential elections in Afghanistan later this week.

August 17th, 2009 Obama: Afghanistan will be neither quick nor easyPHOENIX — President Barack Obama says U.S. troops in Afghanistan are working to secure polling places so this week's elections can go forward and Afghans can decide their future.

August 7th, 2009 Adviser: US has 2 more tough years in AfghanistanWASHINGTON — An incoming adviser to the top U.S. general in Afghanistan predicted Thursday that the United States will see about two more years of heavy fighting and then either hand off to a much improved Afghan fighting force or "lose and go home." David Kilcullen, a counterinsurgency expert who will assume a role as a senior adviser to Gen.

July 24th, 2009 Obama: 'Victory' not right word for AfghanistanWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says he's uncomfortable using the word "victory" to describe the United States' goal in Afghanistan. He says the U.S.

July 6th, 2009 Obama, Medvedev agree progress slow in AfghanistanMOSCOW — President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart agree that there hasn't been as much progress as they'd like to see in the fight against insurgents in Afghanistan. Their comments at a Monday news conference in Moscow followed a Russian commitment to let U.S.

June 25th, 2009 WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has signed into law a measure keeping the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan from running out of money. The $106 billion spending bill also includes money to fight swine flu and a "cash for clunkers" program encouraging drivers to switch to more fuel-efficient cars.

June 22nd, 2009 Obama aide to visit Afghanistan, Pakistan, IndiaWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's national security adviser is traveling to Afghanistan and Pakistan. White House spokesman Mike Hammer said Monday that the president tasked Gen.

June 4th, 2009 Obama: no permanent US presence in AfghanistanCAIRO — President Barack Obama says the United States has no intention of keeping its troops in Afghanistan and America seeks no permanent military bases there. Obama calls it costly and politically difficult to continue the conflict.

May 9th, 2009 Obama: Pakistan, Afghanistan fighting terroristsWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says the United States, Pakistan and Afghanistan are cooperating in the effort to defeat al-Qaida and its terrorist allies. The president met Wednesday at the White House with Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistan's Asif Ali Zardari.

March 27th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama outlined his administration's new strategy in Afghanistan Friday, saying a major goal will be to shut down the Al Qaeda terrorist network in Afghanistan and Pakistan through a bolstered troop presence. 'We have a clear and focused goal: to disrupt, dismantle and defeat Al Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and to prevent their return to either country in the future,' Obama said.

March 27th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama plans to increase troop levels in Afghanistan by an additional 4,000 soldiers in a move to expand the fight against Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants, US news reports said. Ahead of the White House unveiling its new Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy Friday, the Washington Post and CNN reported that on top of the 17,000 additional combat troops already authorised, 4,000 more would be deployed later this year to serve as advisers to the Afghan army.

February 17th, 2009 WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama has approved adding some 17,000 US troops to its forces in Afghanistan to fight a resurgent Taliban saying 'the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan demands urgent attention and swift action.' 'The Taliban is resurgent in Afghanistan, and Al Qaeda supports the insurgency and threatens America from its safe-haven along the Pakistani border,' Obama said in a statement released by the White House Tuesday. The troops increase 'is necessary to stabilise a deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, which has not received the strategic attention, direction, and resources it urgently requires,' he said.

February 17th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama announced Tuesday that he has ordered the deployment of more than 10,000 troops to Afghanistan to step up the fight against the resurgent Taliban. The buildup of the 8,000 Marines and at least 4,000 Army troops will begin in the spring and last into the summer, and will increase the US presence in Afghanistan to more than 45,000.

January 20th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama has stated in his foreign policy agenda that the US 'will increase nonmilitary aid to Pakistan and hold them accountable for security in the border region with Afghanistan'. President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will renew America’s security and standing in the world through 'a new era of American leadership', stated the document released Tuesday soon after the new president went to the Oval Office following the swearing-in ceremony.