Readout of President Obama’s Meeting on Afghanistan and Pakistan

Today, President Obama met for nearly two hours with his national security team for his regular monthly meeting on Afghanistan and Pakistan. The President received an update on political developments in Afghanistan from Ambassador Eikenberry, with a focus on our ongoing efforts to support enhanced governance and accountability, as well as the preparations and challenges associated with the upcoming Afghan-led parliamentary elections. The President received an update on the security situation from General Petraeus. Consistent with the President’s decision last December, the planned deployment of additional troops was completed by the end of August. General Petraeus underscored that these additional forces are now at the highest operational tempo to date, and are focused on challenging long-established Taliban strongholds, targeting Taliban leadership, training Afghan Security Forces, and supporting Afghan-led reintegration and local policing initiatives. The President then received an update on the situation in Pakistan from Ambassador Patterson, who focused on the extraordinary challenges presented by the recent flooding, and our ongoing efforts to provide substantial humanitarian support for the Pakistani people as they recover and rebuild. Finally, the President reviewed our ongoing efforts to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al Qaeda in the border region, including our close cooperation with Pakistan, Afghanistan, and our NATO allies.