The new Af-Pak strategy of the Obama Administration and the decision on sending more troops to Afghanistan is now literally on hold till the new government is formed in Kabul after next month's run-off to the presidential elections. An indication to this effect was given by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry after he met President Barack Obama at the White House. Kerry briefed the US President on his latest trip to Afghanistan and Pakistan,wherein he was successful in convincing Hamid Karzai to agree to the run-off. Talking to reporters after the meeting,Kerry said it is important for the administration to know who their partner is in Kabul and if it is on the same page or not. "I don't see how you turn to a mom or a dad in Massachusetts or in California or in Wichita,anywhere,and ask,their kids to go out into an augmented effort in a country where a critical component of the mission you're asking them to perform requires good government,and you don't know what the government is. So,I would strongly urge the President to put this together in the next weeks," Kerry said. "I do believe that what I learned,in Afghanistan and Pakistan,confirmed to me overwhelmingly without any doubt that the president has been absolutely correct to take this time,in order to allow some of these events to unfold and in order to be able to examine our strategy," he said. "I personally do not believe the strategy is defined merely by numbers of troops. That is the wrong focus,though numbers of troops will be important to a strategy. The strategy is focused on our ability to be able to have the Afghans themselves take control of this future. And the rate at which that can happen is critical," Kerry said. "So,the question of governance and the question of development,which are the two other critical legs of the stool of counterinsurgency,are not yet fully vetted in this process,and I think are absolutely essential to the President's decision," Kerry said as Obama holds another round of Situation Room meeting with his key aides this week. So far Obama has held five situation room meetings each lasting for more than three hours besides having a series of meetings with other leaders in this regard. "We are now in a position to have a legitimate next president of Afghanistan,and that is a very significant step with respect to the possibilities," he said. "So,I think Americans should be pleased that this decision is going to be made in an orderly,thoughtful and substantive way," Kerry added.
