Shifting Alliances Complicate U.S.-Pakistan War Against Militants

The Obama Administration may be pressing Pakistan to intensify its efforts against Islamic militants on its soil, but Islamabad has its own ways of tackling the issue — most recently in the form of truces with local Taliban forces, a development that has raised eyebrows in Washington.

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Obama tackles thorny economic, military issues in Canada trip

President Obama visited Canada on Thursday in his first foreign trip as head of state, meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to discuss a range of complicated economic and military issues. Obama and Harper discussed possible remedies for the global economic downturn, a new initiative to fight global warming and the ongoing struggle against Taliban and al Qaeda elements in Afghanistan, the leaders said during a joint news conference. The struggling economy was at the top of the agenda, with emphasis on the controversy surrounding the “buy American” clause in the recently passed U.S

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Obama team works to define U.S. strategy in Afghanistan

When U.S.-led forces toppled the Taliban after the 9/11 attacks, then-President Bush said the goal in Afghanistan was "to build a flourishing democracy as an alternative to a hateful ideology." Seven years, billions of dollars and hundreds of U.S. casualties later, the goals are more pragmatic and modest.

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