Al Qaeda and its allies -- the terrorists who planned and supported the 9/11 attacks -- are in Pakistan and Afghanistan . Multiple intelligence estimates have warned that al Qaeda is actively planning attacks on the U.S. homeland from its safe haven in Pakistan . Watch how the U.S. will target terrorist safe havens '' `` And if the Afghan government falls to the Taliban -- or allows al Qaeda to go unchallenged -- that country will again be a base for terrorists who want to kill as many of our people as they possibly can . '' Obama said it is key Americans understand that Pakistan `` needs our help '' against al Qaeda . `` Al Qaeda and other violent extremists have killed several thousand Pakistanis since 9/11 . They have killed many Pakistani soldiers and police . They assassinated -LSB- former Pakistani Prime Minister -RSB- Benazir Bhutto . They have blown up buildings , derailed foreign investment and threatened the stability of the state . Make no mistake : Al Qaeda and its extremist allies are a cancer that risks killing Pakistan from within . '' Watch Obama 's speech on Afghanistan , Pakistan threats '' Flanked
WASHINGTON -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- More troops , new legislation , improved troop training and added civilian expertise highlight President Obama 's strategy to fight terrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan . President Obama , here with Hillary Clinton on Friday , calls the situation in Afghanistan `` increasingly perilous . '' Obama on Friday announced his plan to tackle what he called an `` international security challenge of the highest order . '' Stressing soberly that `` the safety of people around the world is at stake , '' Obama said the `` situation is increasingly perilous '' in the region in and around Afghanistan , where the United States has been fighting al Qaeda and the Taliban for more than 7 1/2 years after attacks in New York and at the Pentagon . `` The United States of America did not choose to fight a war in Afghanistan . Nearly 3,000 of our people were killed on September 11 , 2001 , for doing nothing more than going about their daily lives , '' said Obama , who has vowed to make Afghanistan the central front in the fight against terrorism . `` So let me be clear :