Abstract
President Barack Obama issued his first National Security Strategy of the United States
of America on May 26, 2010. The document is a statutory requirement by Congress,
prepared periodically and published by the executive branch, which outlines the major
national security concerns of the United States and how the administration plans to
deal with them. There was a great deal of anticipation to see what the new president's
first official presentation of national security would look like, and how it would differ from
those issued by former president George W. Bush. On the very first page of the strategy
there are only two countries mentioned - Afghanistan and Pakistan. But their mention
at the top of the document is not really a place of pride, they are there as manifestations
of America's central security concerns: Going forward, there should be no doubt: the
United States of America will continue to underwrite global security - through our
commitments to allies, partners, and institutions; our focus on defeating al-Qa'ida and
its affiliates in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and around the globe; and our determination to
deter aggression and prevent the proliferation of the world's most dangerous
weapons.(National Security Strategy of the United States 2010)
Slightly later on Pakistan is evoked, as well as Afghanistan, as the frontline in the fight
against al-Qa'ida and the Taliban. This is not the first time both countries have been so
characterized. In fact it is a term so frequently used that a new word has been invented
in the English language to describe the troubled region: Afpak. Such a prominent place
given to Afghanistan and Pakistan is not at all unexpected. When President Obama
entered the Oval Office, he immediately set out to deliver on his most important campaign
promise on foreign policy: to refocus on the war in Afghanistan. What he called the war
of necessity even before being elected. He announced only two months into his presidency:
"I want the American people to understand that we have a clear and focused goal: to
disrupt, dismantle and defeat Al Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan and to prevent their
return to either country in the future. That's the goal that must be achieved. That is a
cause that could not be more just."(The White House Blog, March 27, 2009).
Steven Ekovich. (2011) US Foreign Policy under President Obama and the Challenge of Pakistan, Journal of Independent Studies and Research-Management, Social Sciences and Economics, Volume-09, Issue-1.
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