Obama wins Afghan, Pakistan vows to fight al Qaeda

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – President Barack Obama won a  fresh promise from the leaders of Pakistan and Afghanistan yesterday to work together to defeat al Qaeda, and vowed he  would make “every effort” to avoid civilian deaths.

Afghanistan’s Hamid Karzai and Pakistan’s Asif Ali Zardari  came to Washington after heavy criticism of their efforts to  combat a Taliban resurgence in their countries.

After their talks Obama said both men “fully appreciate the  seriousness of the threat” posed by al Qaeda and their allies.
Despite the warm words, the deaths of dozens of Afghan  civilians this week, possibly in U.S.-led air strikes, cast a  shadow on the talks.
“The road ahead will be difficult. There will be more  violence and there will be setbacks,” Obama said, with Karzai  and Zardari at his side in the Grand Foyer of the White House.

“But let me be clear — the United States has made a  lasting commitment to defeat al Qaeda but also to support the  democratically elected sovereign governments of both Pakistan  and Afghanistan. That commitment will not waiver and that  support will be sustained.”
The Red Cross said dozens of Afghans died in U.S.-led air  strikes in Farah province this week while local officials said  more than 100 civilians may have been killed.

If that figure is confirmed it would make it among the  deadliest incidents involving Afghan civilians since the fall  of the Taliban in 2001.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton offered her deep  regret for the incident, without implying U.S. responsibility  for it. An American official, who asked not to be named, said  it appeared that U.S. bombing may have caused the deaths.

The Obama administration has sharply criticised both Karzai  and Zardari in the past, questioning their commitment and  capability to tackle the threat from al Qaeda and the Taliban.

Civilian casualties caused by U.S. military operations in  both countries, including drone strikes inside Pakistan, have  infuriated many Afghans and Pakistanis and made it harder for  both countries’ leaders to cooperate with the United States.

“We deeply, deeply regret that loss,” Clinton said of the  civilian deaths before meeting Karzai and Zardari.
Later she called that meeting “in some ways a breakthrough”  and said she was “very optimistic” the process was making a  difference.
Obama announced a new approach to the fight against al  Qaeda in both countries in late March, offering more aid but  also more than 20,000 extra troops to Afghanistan this year.

“We turned a corner,” Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. special  representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, said after Obama’s  brief address. “We gave physical reality to the strategic  plan.”

Karzai, whose office said earlier that he called the  civilian deaths “unjustifiable and unacceptable,” thanked  Clinton for expressing concern and regret, saying he hoped all  civilian casualties could be prevented.

U.S. officials have been frustrated with what they see as  rampant corruption in Karzai’s government, and Obama told his  Afghan counterpart he wanted to see “concrete results” to stamp  out graft, national security adviser Jim Jones told reporters.

Pakistan’s Zardari, who has been under fierce criticism for  his response to Taliban militants who have made inroads in the  Swat and Buner valleys this year, pleaded for support for his  fledgling democracy.

“My democracy needs attention and needs nurturing,” Zardari  said. “Pakistani democracy will deliver, the terrorists will be  defeated by our joint struggle. Me, my friend President Karzai  and the United States … will stand shoulder to shoulder with  the world to fight this cancer and this threat.”
Many Pakistanis blame America for undermining democracy in  their country for decades by supporting and funding its  powerful military, but Clinton said U.S. support for the  democratic government was “very, very firm.”

She also asked for American understanding and patience for  Zardari, just eight months into his new job.
“He inherited a very difficult and unmanageable situation,”  she said. “I think a little more understanding on our part  about what he confronted — you know, he has successfully  navigated some real crises.”

The Pakistani military said security forces attacked  Taliban fighters in the Swat valley, killing at least 64 of  them after the United States called on the government to show  its commitment to fighting militancy.

In Afghanistan, villagers mourned relatives buried in mass  graves following the bombing in Farah province.