WASHINGTON — The incoming Obama administration plans to explore a more regional strategy to the war in Afghanistan — including possible talks with Iran — and looks favorably on the nascent dialogue between the Afghan government and “reconcilable” elements of the Taliban, according to Obama national-security advisers.
President-elect Barack Obama also intends to renew the U.S. commitment to the hunt for Osama bin Laden, a priority he believes President Bush has played down after years of failing to apprehend the al-Qaeda leader. Critical of Bush during the campaign for what he said was the president’s extreme focus on Iraq at the expense of Afghanistan, Obama also intends to move ahead with a planned deployment of thousands of additional U.S. troops there.
The emerging broad strokes of Obama’s approach are likely to be welcomed by a number of senior U.S. military officials who advocate a more aggressive and creative course for the deteriorating conflict. Taliban attacks and U.S. casualties this year are the highest since the war began in 2001.
On Monday, tensions between Western forces and the government of President Hamid Karzai flared anew when the Afghan leader and a provincial governor accused the U.S.-led coalition of killing 14 Afghans who were guarding a road-construction project.
Recent high-profile instances of civilian casualties have inflamed public sentiment not only against foreign troops but also against the U.S.-backed government.
In a sign of confusion and disorganization within the Karzai administration, however, the Interior Ministry said in a separate statement that the 14 slain men had fired on coalition forces in Khost province near the border with Pakistan. The U.S. military and the Interior Ministry said in a joint statement that the incident, which occurred Sunday night, was under investigation.
Karzai last week greeted the news that Obama had won the U.S. presidential election with a blunt demand that the new American administration put an end to civilian casualties in Afghanistan.
The Los Angeles Times contributed to this report.
