Afghan decision possible before runoff

WASHINGTON, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama says it is possible an Afghan strategy may be decided before the Nov. 7 Afghan presidential runoff but it may not be announced.

"I think it is entirely possible that we have a strategy formulated before a runoff is determined," he told NBC News. "We may not announce it."

Obama said Afghan President Hamid Karzai's acceptance of the runoff was a positive step but U.S. strategy in Afghanistan is dependent on "civilian development efforts and stemming corruption" as well as on military considerations.

"What we've said is that it is important to make sure that we understand the landscape and the partner that we're going to be dealing with," he told NBC.

"And our basic attitude is that we are going to take the time to get this right," he said. "We're not going to drag it out because there is a sense that the sooner we get a sound approach in place and personnel in place the better off we're going to be. But we also want to make sure that we don't put resources ahead of strategy."

The Voice of America said Obama got a report from Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who just returned from Kabul where he was credited with playing a major role in convincing Karzai to accept the runoff decision.

After leaving the White House Wednesday, Kerry told reporters Obama should wait for the election outcome before deciding on further troop deployment, VOA reported.