In advance of his first foreign trip, President Barack Obama told a Canadian news organization Tuesday that the United States will seek a more comprehensive, diplomatic approach to Afghanistan, where the U.S. has been engaged in war since 2001.
“I am absolutely convinced that you cannot solve the problem of Afghanistan, the Taliban, the spread of extremism in that region solely through military means,” the president said in a White House interview with Toronto-based Canadian Broadcasting Corp.
Obama”s comments came as he prepares for a quick day trip to Ottawa on Thursday, primarily for talks with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Beyond war, Obama”s agenda is likely to be dominated by the economy, trade, energy and the environment.
Yet the Afghanistan conflict is a deeply sensitive matter on both sides of the border. The United States is poised to send more troops to Afghanistan to quell rising violence; Canada is planning to pull its forces out of the country”s volatile south by 2011, with diminishing support among its people to remain.
Under Obama, the U.S. is considering sending up to 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan. There are about 34,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, including 17,000 in the NATO-led coalition and another 17,000 fighting insurgents and training Afghan forces.
The Canadian government plans to withdraw its 2,500 combat troops, after the loss of more than 100 troops killed in Afghanistan since 2001.
“The Canadian contribution has been extraordinary,” Obama said in the interview.
