page_title: South Asian foreign policy of the Barack Obama administration
section_title: Afghanistan
hierarchical_section_title: South Asian foreign policy of the Barack Obama administration / Countries / Afghanistan
caption_attribution_description: President Barack Obama (center) with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari during a US-Afghan-Pakistan Trilateral meeting in Cabinet Room.
context_page_description: For purposes of U.S. foreign policy, South Asia consists of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs as of 12 June 2017 is William E. Todd.
context_section_description: Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Michael Mullen all argued for further troops, and Obama dispatched additional soldiers after a lengthy review process.
  On February 17, 2009, Obama announced that the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan would be bolstered by 17,000 new troops by the summer. The announcement followed the recommendation of several experts including Defense Secretary Robert Gates that additional troops be deployed to the strife-torn South Asian country. The Obama Department of Justice submitted a court filing that there would be no immediate change from Bush-era policy to deny detainees at Bagram Air Force Base access to U.S. courts in order to appeal their detention.
  The U.S. drone attacks in Pakistan, that were begun by President George W. Bush, increased substantially since an expansion of the attacks was authorized by President Barack Obama in 2009. Drones have resulted in civilian casualties, and intentionally targeted rescuers, funerals, and one U.S. citizen. UN reports have described the U.S. drone wars as extrajudicial killing and summary executions. Though the drone strikes killed high-ranking terrorists, they were also criticized for resulting in civilian casualties. A 2013 Pew research poll showed that the strikes were broadly unpopular in Pakistan, and some former members of the Obama administration have criticized the strikes for causing a backlash against the United States. However, based on 147 interviews conducted in 2015, professor Aqil Shah argued that the strikes were popular in North Waziristan, the area in which most of the strikes take place, and that little blowback occurred. In 2009, the UN special investigator on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions called the United States' reliance on drones "increasingly common" and "deeply troubling", and called on the U.S. to justify its use of targeted assassinations rather than attempting to capture al Qaeda or Taliban suspects. In 2013, Obama appointed John Brennan as the new CIA Director and announced a new policy that required CIA operatives to determine with a "near-certainty" that no civilians would be hurt in a drone strike. The number of drone strikes fell substantially after the announcement of the new policy,
  In August 2009, Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan TTP was killed in a drone strike, which was one of the early successes of the Obama administration
  General Stanley A. McChrystal, argued in September and October 2009 that success in Afghanistan "demands a substantial expansion of the American presence,"  "up to 40,000 more troops."  Some foreign policy analysts and political commentators criticized the General for making public statements about political matters  while others supported the proposed increase in the number of troops deployed to Afghanistan.
  In a speech on 1 December 2009 that Obama delivered at United States Military Academy at West Point (also known as USMA, West Point) and announcing a long-awaited strategy, Obama said another 30,000 American troops would be deployed quickly in Afghanistan, while Defense Secretary Robert Gates told the US Congress that "curbing the Taliban" was "essential for regional security". In a speech to the Senate Armed Services Committee he stressed that the US goal in Afghanistan and Pakistan was "to defeat the al-Qaeda network – and to do that, the Taliban must be pushed back". Taliban-ruled areas could in short order become again sanctuaries for al-Qaeda and militant groups fighting in Pakistan.
  Obama identified several objectives in Afghanistan and Pakistan: (1) disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al-Qaeda; (2) deny al-Qaeda a safe haven; (3) reverse the Taliban's momentum and deny it the ability to overthrow the Afghan government; and (4) strengthen the capacity of the Afghan security forces and government to better protect and serve population centers.  
  To accomplish this, he ordered the deployment of the additional 30,000 troops to the region, which would bring the U.S. total t
caption: Zardari (right) with president Barack Obama (center) and president Hamid Karzai (left) during a US–Afghan–Pakistan Trilateral meeting
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