In his speech on Tuesday, Obama asserted that “the central front in the war on terror is not Iraq, and it never was”. His focus, instead, will be on “taking the fight to al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan”. “This is a war we have to win,” Obama insisted. Promising to send at least 10,000 more troops to Afghanistan, Obama declared that “the Afghan people must know that our commitment to their future is enduring, because the security of Afghanistan and the United States is shared”.

In emphasising a long-term American commitment to Kabul, Obama also squarely confronted the central truth of the war in Afghanistan. “Make no mistake”, Obama argued, “we can’t succeed in Afghanistan or secure our homeland unless we change our Pakistan policy.” Despite the earlier controversy over his remarks on attacking terrorist bases in Pakistan, Obama reiterated on Tuesday that “we must make it clear that if Pakistan cannot or will not act, we will take out high-level terrorist targets like bin Laden if we have them in our sights.”

McCain, who takes the more traditional American approach to the alliance with Pakistan, was quick to counter Obama’s remarks on Tuesday. “Obama has spoken in public about taking unilateral military action in Pakistan. In trying to sound tough, he has made it harder for the people whose support we most need to provide it.” McCain is not objecting to Obama’s proposal for administering drastic remedies on Pakistan: he is actually against irresponsible public talk about them. Insisting that he will not make “idle threats” and demanding that Pakistan remove sanctuaries for terrorists, McCain thundered, “When I am commander-in-chief, there will be nowhere the terrorists can run, and nowhere they can hide.” After refusing for months to support additional troop deployment in Afghanistan, McCain now promised to dispatch 15,000 additional troops and called for a new programme to support the Pashtun tribes who are ready to fight al Qaeda.

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