Obama shifts strategy from Bush policy

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In the space of a month, President Barack Obama has shifted U.S. strategy from George W. Bush's fixation on Iraq to a renewed focus on Afghanistan, where many Americans thought it should have always been.

After outlining in February an 18-month timetable to end U.S. combat operations in Iraq, Obama announced on Friday a policy toward Afghanistan and Pakistan that will funnel more military and civilian aid to the two countries where Islamic extremism is the biggest threat to U.S. interests.