Obama, team discuss Pakistan, Afghanistan

WASHINGTON, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama met with his national security team Wednesday for his monthly meeting on Afghanistan and Pakistan, the White House said.

A White House statement discussed broad areas of discussion but gave few details, except to say that Obama would not be visiting Pakistan during next month's Asia trip.

The 90-minute meeting began with discussion of the ongoing efforts with Pakistan and Afghanistan to defeat al-Qaida and its affiliates. Those efforts included counter-terror operations that have killed or captured several al-Qaida leaders in recent months, officials said.

The president and his team also reviewed the U.S. relationship with Pakistan, including security cooperation, the need to increase pressure on extremist safe-havens, U.S. support for the Pakistani people and their democratic institutions and efforts to help Pakistan recover from the devastating floods, the White House said.

On the Afghanistan side, Obama and his team discussed ongoing efforts including economic development, the local police initiative and President Hamid Karzai's establishment of a High Peace Council to support Afghan-led reconciliation.

Obama met later Wednesday with the Pakistani delegation to the U.S.-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue. The president explained he would not be stopping in Pakistan during his trip to Asia next month but committed to visiting Pakistan in 2011.

Obama also was scheduled to attend a Democratic Party rally at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland.