Obamas remark in the State of the Union address regarding our generations Sputnik moment has left many guessing about the exact import of the expression. When the Soviet Union put Sputnik into orbit, it was considered as an imminent threat to US superiority in space technology. Did the challenge Obama was hinting at emanate from some external threat such as global economic competition, rogue states going nuclear, foreigners cornering the solar panel industry or from internal challenges in the presidential elections to be held in November 2012?
Obama renewed, amid resounding applause, his commitment to begin pulling out US troops from July this year. He also made it clear that the US would continue to pursue the war on terror with determination. He even vowed to expand the sphere of the anti-terror war from Afghanistan to the Arabian Peninsula. Obama was optimistic about the outcome of the surge in Afghanistan claiming that the troops build-up had stripped the Taliban of strongholds in the country, a claim challenged by his political opponents and several independent observers. He said that Al-Qaeda was under more pressure in Pakistan and its safe havens were shrinking. Lest anybody think he was cutting Pakistan some slack, Obama indirectly attributed the success to US efforts. When he said that the Al-Qaeda leaders and operatives are being removed from the battlefield, it was meant to be a tribute to the US drones. Pressure would, therefore, continue to mount on Pakistan to launch operations in North Waziristan. He also indirectly reprimanded the Karzai government when he said that the Afghan government would need to deliver better governance.
Under mounting pressure from Washington, both Afghanistan and Pakistan are currently preparing for the tripartite meeting with the US in the third week of February. While the Karzai government has been conducting negotiations with the Taliban, it is not yet known if it has been able to persuade them to cut off ties with the Al-Qaeda. Pakistan, meanwhile, suffers from shortage of funds to fight the war against the TTP and Al-Qaeda combine. The two real victims of the ongoing war in the region need to work out a joint strategy to be able to successfully pursue the endgame. With the Afghan foreign minister in Islamabad, expectations are bound to be aroused.
