Barack Obama enlists Afghan war leaks in support of policy switch | World news | The Guardian

Barack Obama enlists Afghan war leaks in support of policy switch | World news | The Guardian

Material cataloguing blunders justifies decision to deploy 30,000 more US troops, US president says

Barack Obama speaking in the Rose Garden of the White House. Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/AP

Barack Obama today said the disclosures about the mishandling of the Afghanistan war contained in leaked US military documents justified his decision to embark on a new strategy.
Speaking on the White House lawn after a meeting with Congressional leaders to discuss funding for the war and other issues, the US president deplored the leak, saying he was concerned the information from the battleground could jeopardise the lives of US soldiers.
But he went on to say that the material, which catalogues a series of blunders, revealed the challenges that led him to announce late last year a change in strategy that involved sending an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan.
The tens of thousands of documents were sent to the website Wikileaks and published in the Guardian, the New York Times and Der Spiegel. They deal mainly with the conduct of the war during the Bush administration, which Obama has repeatedly accused of ignoring the Afghanistan war because of its focus on Iraq.
"For seven years, we failed to implement a strategy for this region," Obama said yesterday, of the period starting with the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington.
"That is why we have increased our commitment there and developed a new strategy," he said, adding that he had also sent one of the finest generals in the US, General David Petraeus.
He ended with a plea to the House of Representatives to join the Senate in passing a bill needed to provide funds for the Afghan war.
The leaks have put attention on Afghanistan at a time when the Obama administration would rather focus on the economy, the main issue among voters, and have put pressure on him to explain why he thinks his new strategy will stand any better chance of success than the old one.
Obama is also facing pressure to explain continued financial, military and other support for Pakistan, in spite of allegations in the leaked documents that elements in the Pakistan intelligence service are supporting the Taliban.
Members of Congress are becoming increasingly sceptical in public about the conduct of the war, and public support is falling. According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll published today, satisfaction with Obama's handling of the war has dropped to 33%, down from 38% in January and 47% in February last year.