It is Af-Pak-Ind, Mr. Obama (PAKISTAN)

Having declared during the election campaign that Afghanistan was the central front in the fight against terrorism – the "good" war on which America should have been focussing all along – Obama has taken some quick steps to demonstrate how serious he is about winning it. Within days of taking office, he appointed Holbrooke to execute a new Afghanistan policy and despatched him to the region. A day later, he authorised drone attacks on targets in Pakistan.

These attacks, which take place with the connivance of the Zardari government, have continued since then and their scope has been expanded to include Baitullah Mehsud and his followers, besides militants from Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. On Feb 17, Obama announced plans to send an additional 17,000 troops to the 33,000-strong contingent already there. Ultimately, 30,000 additional troops could be deployed in the coming year or so.

At the same time, the Obama Administration is moving to complete a review of its Afghan strategy before NATO holds its next summit on April 2. The new strategy will pursue a more comprehensive regional approach.

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