Obama: Afghan government needs to do more

WASHINGTON, July 20 (UPI) -- The Afghan government must become more active in the ongoing attempts to stabilize its country, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., said Sunday.

The presumptive Democratic U.S. presidential candidate said in an interview aired on CBS's "Face the Nation" that both the Afghan and U.S. governments must both focus their energies on the conflict in Afghanistan.

"The Afghan government needs to do more," Obama said. "But we have to understand that the situation is precarious and urgent here in Afghanistan. And I believe this has to be our central focus, the central front, on our battle against terrorism."

The senator's comments come as he is touring Afghanistan and the Illinois official said additional assistance should be sought from neighboring Pakistan.

"The United States has to take a regional approach to the problem," he said. "Just as we can't be myopic and focus only on Iraq, we also can't think that we can solve the security problems here in Afghanistan without engaging the Pakistan government."