US lawmakers applaud Obama for ’bold’ Afghan-Pak policy

Cutting across party lines, US lawmakers have commended President Barack Obama for his “bold” comprehensive strategy on Pakistan and Afghanistan, saying he has rightly brought the focus back on the two countries -- the centre of war against terrorism.

Cutting across party lines, US lawmakers have commended President Barack Obama for his “bold” comprehensive strategy on Pakistan and Afghanistan, saying he has rightly brought the focus back on the two countries -- the centre of war against terrorism.

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Both Republican and Democratic leaders in the Senate and House of Representatives were quick to welcome the new policy, unveiled by Obama yesterday when he vowed to “disrupt, defeat and dismantle” terrorists and their safe havens in the region.House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, applauded Obama for adopting a regional approach in his policy while her party colleague and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said a “focused approach” will help in successfully defeating the al-Qaeda and thus making the US safe.

While welcoming the new policy, Senator John McCain, who was the Republican Presidential candidate in the November 4 polls, said this is just the first step.“The announcement of the new strategy must be quickly followed by the development of an integrated civil-military campaign plan for all of Afghanistan, which does not exist today,” he said.