Obama Seeks 'Strategy' Not 'Straightjacket' in Afghanistan

President Obama will announce the deployment of 4,000 additional U.S. Army troops to Afghanistan on Friday, part of strategy senior officials say will merge increased military efforts with a massive diplomatic push there and in neighboring Pakistan."Our focus is first and foremost on those who threaten the United States of America," a senior official said, referring to Al Qaeda and Taliban forces that now reside in unknown locations in Pakistan."That strategy is to disrupt, dismantle and defeat Al Qaeda, its associates and destroy their safe havens," another senior official said during a White House briefing in advance of the president's speech. "This strategy is a strategy, it's not a straightjacket. It's designed to be flexible. We will re-asses as we go along."The 4,000 Army trainers are in additional to the contingent of 17,000 Marines and Army personnel Obama already announced he would send into combat operations in Afghanistan. Those deployments will start this spring and continue through the summer. The Army trainers will focus their efforts on expanding the ranks and professionalism of the Afghanistan National Army (ANA).Separately, the administration has won an as-yet-unannounced commitment of forces from France to increase training of Afghan police forces.