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Journalism of Courage
Confronting a deteriorating situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan,US President Barack Obama said on Wednesday that the US was deeply committed to helping the two countries defeat al-Qaeda and its extremist partners,and in helping democracy endure and flourish.
In order to achieve the common goal to disrupt,dismantle and defeat al-Qaeda and its extremist allies in Pakistan,we must deny them the space to threaten Pakistani,Afghan or American people, Obama said after his meeting with his Pakistani and Afghan counterparts Asif Ali Zardari and Hamid Karzai at the White House.
After the trilateral summit,Obama said he was pleased that Zardari and Karzai fully appreciated the seriousness of the threat and that they had reaffirmed their commitment to confronting it.
And Im pleased that we have advanced unprecedented cooperation between Afghanistan and Pakistan on a bilateral basis and among Afghanistan,Pakistan and the US which will benefit all of our people, he told reporters.
Against the backdrop of the US air raids targeting insurgents in Afghanistans Herat province that killed 100 civilians,Obama pledged to make every effort to avoid casualties among innocent people.
The dismantling of terrorist network,Obama argued,should be matched by economic development of the region. This is why,Obama said,his administration is proposing to triple civilian aid to Pakistan to $7.5 billion in the next five years and creating opportunity zones in the two countries.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs indicated that Obama impressed upon Zardari the need for Pakistan to concentrate on security challenges within rather than considering India as an existential threat about it during the course of his daily briefing.
Obviously,given the security challenges ahead in Pakistan,the President believes and the administration believes focusing on the security challenges within the country that are being posed right now make a lot more sense than stockpiling troops on the border, Gibbs said.
