Obama said the 17,000 troops he ordered deployed there earlier this year would tackle the Taliban in Afghanistan’s south and east, as well as prepare security for elections in August.

Obama called for continued help from NATO allies, but the missions he defined seemed to reflect the political reality that NATO countries are reluctant to commit troops to combat: They will support elections and train security forces, he said.

Reid and others said that NATO needs to do its fair share to stabilize the country.

“We also need our NATO allies to engage fully in the fight...” said Peter Hoekstra of Michigan, the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee. “We do not want to get into a situation where several months down the line, we are forced to expend more troops and treasure because political considerations overruled those on the ground.”

On the development front, Obama called on Congress to enact legislation (HR 1318, S 496) to create “Reconstruction Opportunity Zones” in both Pakistan and Afghanistan that would allow duty-free imports of goods into the United States if the president determines that the countries are working to establish a the rule of law, free trade and anti-corruption, anti-poverty policies.

On Pakistan, Obama urged Congress to pass legislation to be introduced by Senate Foreign Relations Chairman John Kerry , D-Mass., that would authorize $1.5 billion in non-military assistance to Pakistan for each of the next five years. That closely follows a proposal that Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. made while serving as a senator in the 110th Congress that would condition military aid on efforts to fight al Qaeda and the Taliban.

Obama also said he would order a “substantial increase” in development and humanitarian work in Afghanistan, though he did not mention specific numbers. “To advance security, opportunity, and justice — not just in Kabul, but from the bottom up in the provinces — we need agricultural specialists and educators; engineers and lawyers,” he said.

He argued for the importance of this effort even though it is non-military.

“They save us an enormous amount of money in the long run, because it is far cheaper to train a policeman to secure their village or to help a farmer seed a crop, than it is to send our troops to fight tour after tour of duty with no transition to Afghan responsibility,” he said.

Reid said he liked the plan because it is “stressing things that should have been stressed before,” including agriculture.

Given the waste that plagued the reconstruction effort in Iraq, Obama also announced more funding for inspectors general at the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development, as well as the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), though he did not provide specific numbers.

Congress is considering legislation (S 615) to allow SIGAR to ramp up more quickly.

He said he would seek new measures to crack down on corruption in Kabul, as well as set benchmarks on international assistance to measure its success.

“We’ll consistently assess our efforts to train Afghan Security Forces, and our progress in combating insurgents,” he said. “We will measure the growth of Afghanistan’s economy, and its illicit narcotics production. And we will review whether we are using the right tools and tactics to make progress towards accomplishing our goals.” Part of the effort in Afghanistan will include outreach to ostensible U.S. enemies, much as the United States successfully allied with Sunni insurgents to fight extremists in Iraq. That will include “a reconciliation process” in every Afghan province, Obama said.

Obama reiterated the view that Pakistan must work to fight the extremists in its territory, some of which Islamabad reportedly continues to support. But the president also suggested that U.S. strikes in its tribal areas would continue.

“Pakistan must demonstrate its commitment to rooting out al Qaeda and the violent extremists within its borders,” he said. “And we will insist that action be taken — one way or another — when we have intelligence about high-level terrorist targets.”

Obama said the three countries would launch a standing trilateral dialogue to address military and intelligence issues as well as trade, energy and economic development. The group will next meet in early May in Washington. He also said the United Nations would establish a broad group to address security issues in the region, including Russia, India, China and, notably, Iran.

Kathleen Hunter contributed to this story.