KABUL(AP) -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama says the situation in Afghanistan is “precarious” and “urgent.”

In an interview broadcast Sunday during his first trip to Afghanistan, Obama said the U.S. needs to start planning now to send in more troops. He has called for an additional one to two brigades -- or about 7,000 troops -- to be sent to Afghanistan to help counter a resurgent Taliban and quell rising violence.
Obama told CBS News that Afghanistan has to be the central focus in the fight against terrorists.
He said the Bush administration allowed itself to be distracted by a “war of choice” but now is the time to correct the mistake.
Obama also sat down with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and pledged continued aid to the country.
Obama pledged steadfast aid to Afghanistan in talks Sunday with its Western-backed leader and vowed to pursue the war on terror “with vigor” if he is elected, an Afghan official said.
On the second day of an international tour designed to burnish his foreign policy credentials, Illinois Sen. Obama and other U.S. senators held two hours of talks with President Hamid Karzai at his palace in the capital.
Obama has chided Karzai for not doing more to build confidence in his government, whose grip remains weak after the ouster of the Taliban in 2001.
U.S. Embassy spokesman Mark Stroh said Obama and the senators discussed issues including the painstaking rebuilding of the country's government and economy, the security situation and corruption with Karzai.
The Afghan presidency said Obama's message was positive.
“Sen. Obama conveyed ... that he is committed to supporting Afghanistan and to continue the war against terrorism with vigor,” said Humayun Hamidzada, Karzai's spokesman.
Both Democrats and Republicans “are friends of Afghanistan and no matter who wins the U.S. elections, Afghanistan will have a very strong partner in the United States,” Hamidzada said.
Obama has made Afghanistan a centerpiece of his proposed strategy for dealing with terrorism threats. The Illinois senator has said the war in Afghanistan deserves more troops and more attention as opposed to the conflict in Iraq. Both Obama and his Republican rival for the presidency, Sen. John McCain, advocated sending more forces to the country.