"What we're looking for is a comprehensive strategy," Obama said in an interview aired Sunday on CBS television's 60 Minutes show.

"There's got to be an exit strategy," he said. "There's got to be a sense that this is not a perpetual drift."

Obama's comments come as he prepares to roll out a new strategy for Afghanistan, against a backdrop of rising insurgent violence that has questioned the viability of a seven-year-old US-led effort to create a functioning democracy.

Obama said a decision last month to send 17,000 more US troops to Afghanistan -- largely to head off a spike in violence before elections in August -- was the most difficult he has had to make since taking office.

"You know I think it is the right thing to do. But it's a weighty decision because we actually had to make the decision prior to the completion of (the) strategic review that we were conducting," he said.

US commanders have said as many as 30,000 additional troops are needed to overcome a stalemate in parts of Afghanistan. But some analysts caution against a gradual Vietnam-like escalation in a country historically hostile to outsiders.

In the CBS interview Obama narrowly defined the US mission in Afghanistan as: "Making sure Al-Qaeda cannot attack the US homeland and US interests and our allies. That's the number one priority."

"In service of that priority there may be a whole host of things that we need to do," he said. "We may need to build up economic capacity in Afghanistan. We may need to improve our diplomatic efforts in Pakistan.

"We may need to bring a more regional diplomatic approach to bear. We may need to coordinate more effectively with our allies. But we can't lose sight of what our central mission is," he said.

He said the mission was the same as when the United States went into Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001 attacks, adding that projecting violence against US citizens "is something that we cannot tolerate."

The strategy is expected to rely on a major expansion of Afghanistan's own security forces, wooing "moderate" insurgents, stepping up civilian aid efforts and embarking on ambitious diplomacy across the region.

Some of the troops will be charged with overseeing the recruitment and training of a larger Afghan army and police force, which the administration is betting can one day take over security duties.

From agricultural experts to engineers, civilians will be expected to beef up local government and tribal leaders, as Western officials are wary of relying too heavily on a weak Kabul government plagued by corruption.

The outlines of the strategy have gradually emerged in public statements and media reports as Obama prepares to take his blueprint to a NATO summit in April, when he is expected to appeal to European allies for more help.

Citing Iraq as a possible model, Obama has said he supports pursuing talks with elements of the Afghan insurgency, in hopes of isolating the hardline leadership allied with Al-Qaeda.

Skeptics warn a bid to lure away insurgents will only succeed if US and Afghan forces first gain the upper hand against the Taliban.

And at the moment, the US commander in Afghanistan, General David McKiernan, describes the war as a "stalemate."

Even if all goes to plan inside Afghanistan, top officials say the key to the conflict lies across the border in Pakistan.

The Taliban and associated Islamists -- including Al-Qaeda -- all operate from havens in Pakistan's northwest tribal areas and in the Swat Valley, despite repeated appeals to Islamabad from Washington.

Obama has assigned special envoy Richard Holbrooke the daunting task of trying to persuade Pakistan to do more to crack down on the militants and to tighten control of its porous border.

"As long as you've got safe havens in these border regions that the Pakistani government can't control or reach, in effective ways, we're going to continue to see vulnerability on the Afghan side of the border," Obama said.

Obama's regional diplomacy is expected to draw in India, in hopes of reducing tensions with Pakistan, and possibly Iran, which in the past has bitterly opposed the Taliban.

burs/arb

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