US Presi-dent Barack Obama on Wednesday gathered his Afghan war cabinet as thousands of US-led troops attacked a Taliban bastion in the first big offensive of his troop surge strategy. Obama convened the meeting in the secure White House Situation Room, two days after it emerged that US and Pakistani spies had pulled off a major coup by capturing the Taliban's top military commander.
Among administration heavy hitters at the table were Vice President Joe Biden, Defence Secretary Robert Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and General David Petraeus, head of US Central Command. US spy chiefs were also involved and war commander General Stanley McChrystal and US ambassador to Kabul Karl Eikenberry were due to take part in the meeting by video conference, the White House said.
It was the first major meeting of its kind since the long series of high-level consultations Obama initiated before deciding on the strategy to surge 30,000 extra troops into the Afghan war late last year. But the arrest of top Taliban military commander Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, confirmed by Pakistan on Wednesday, could deal a huge blow to the insurgency which is trying to bring down the Afghan government and evict foreign troops. Also on Wednesday, Obama will meet the top US general in Iraq, Ray Odierno, and US ambassador to Baghdad Christopher Hill in the Oval Office, officials said.