President Barack Obama's crucial speech today, in which he will lay out a strategy for how the United States will defeat the Taliban, will have to satisfy many different audiences around the world. It will need to be finely balanced to appease U.S. and European audiences that want a time frame for a pullout of troops from Afghanistan and Afghans who want a sustained U.S. commitment to rebuild the country.
The speech – the most important of Mr. Obama's presidency – will also be avidly listened to by the Taliban and al-Qaeda so they can figure out how to counter the future U.S. military strategy.
However, Mullah Mohammed Omar, the Taliban leader, has already issued a long message to the world, pre-empting Mr. Obama's speech and pouring detailed scorn on many of the points that the President is likely to make. He called upon his fighters to continue the jihad and drive out foreign forces from Afghanistan, as “the arrogant enemy is facing both defeat and disgrace.”
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