US President Barack Obama on Tuesday vowed to forge a new comprehensive policy towards Pakistan and Afghanistan to curb violent extremism in the region, considered vital to American security interests.
"And with our friends and allies, we will forge a new and comprehensive strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan to defeat al Qaeda and combat extremism," he said in his first address to the joint session of both chambers of Congress.
Obama re-affirmed that he "will not allow terrorists to plot against the American people from safe havens half a world away." The US leaders' statement came as his administration began a process of consultation with the two allies - Pakistan and Afghanistan - with the objective to review the current policy and evolve an effective way forward in the restive Pak-Afghan border regions.
The three-way consultative meetings by top diplomats of the three anti-terrorism partners in Washington are being interpreted by experts as a sign of the Obama's emphasis on engagement in contrast with the former Bush Administration's go-it-alone mode.
Obama stressed that point in his speech, saying his administration has begun a "new era of engagement" in both words and deeds. To overcome extremism, he said, the US must also be vigilant in upholding the values its troops defend, "because there is no force in the world more powerful than the example of America."
"That is why I have ordered the closing of the detention centre at Guantanamo Bay, and will seek swift and certain justice for captured terrorists - because living our values doesn't make us weaker, it makes us safer and it makes us stronger.
"And that is why I can stand here tonight and say without exception or equivocation that the United States of America does not torture." Obama said his administration is now "carefully" reviewing the US policies in both Iraq and Afghan wars. He said he will soon announce a way forward in Iraq "that leaves Iraq to its people and responsibly ends this war."
America, he said, cannot meet the threats of this century alone, but the world cannot meet them without America. "We cannot shun the negotiating table, nor ignore the foes or forces, that could do us harm. We are instead called to move forward with the sense of confidence and candour that serious times demand."
On the Middle East, he said an envoy has been appointed to sustain the effort to seek progress toward a secure and "lasting peace between Israel and its neighbours. "To meet the challenges of the 21st century - from terrorism to nuclear proliferation; from pandemic disease to cyber threats to crushing poverty - we will strengthen old alliances, forge new ones, and use all elements of our national power."