WASHINGTON – Poised to unveil a new strategy for Afghanistan, President Barack Obama is hoping a mixture of military might, diplomacy, civilian aid and pragmatism will turn the tide in a war that has dragged on for more than seven years.

Scaling back rhetoric about democracy and nation-building, the Obama administration appears more focused on averting disaster and finding an eventual exit than on vanquishing the Taliban.

The strategy is expected to rely on a major expansion of Kabul's security forces, wooing "moderate" insurgents, stepping up civilian aid efforts and embarking on ambitious diplomacy across the region.

On the military side, the number of US boots on the ground will dramatically increase in coming months amid forecasts of a spike in violence before elections in August.

Even before the strategy review was finished, Obama approved reinforcements of 17,000 to join the 38,000-strong US force along with other NATO troops.

Some of the troops will be charged with overseeing the recruitment and training of a larger Afghan army and police force, which the administration is betting can one day take over security duties.

In keeping with tactics used in Iraq, NATO troops will try to secure main roads and clear out insurgents from towns, while a small army of civilians are supposed to move in to build basic services.

From agricultural experts to engineers, the civilians will be expected to beef up local government and tribal leaders, as Western officials are wary of relying too heavily on a weak Kabul government plagued by corruption.

The outlines of the strategy have gradually emerged in public statements and media reports as Obama prepares to take his blueprint to a NATO summit in April, when he is expected to appeal to European allies for help with the "civilian surge" in reconstruction efforts.

Obama's approach draws in part on hard lessons the military learned during the previous US administration in Iraq, where a bloody insurgency was eventually defused partly by persuading Sunni militia to break with Al-Qaeda.

Citing Iraq as a possible model, Obama has said he supports pursuing talks with elements of the Afghan insurgency, in hopes of isolating the hardline leadership allied with Al-Qaeda.

The idea of talking to the Taliban has gained currency in Western capitals, but skeptics warn a bid to lure away insurgents will only succeed if US and Afghan forces first gain the upper hand against the Taliban.

And at the moment, the US commander in Afghanistan, General David McKiernan, describes the war as a "stalemate."

Even if all goes as planned inside Afghanistan, top officials say the key to the conflict lies across the border in Pakistan.

The Taliban and associated Islamists – including Al-Qaeda – all operate from havens in Pakistan's northwest tribal areas and in the Swat Valley, despite repeated appeals to Islamabad from Washington.

Obama has assigned special envoy Richard Holbrooke the daunting task of trying to persuade Pakistan to do more to crack down on the militants and to tighten control of its porous border.

As an incentive, Washington will likely offer military and economic aid.

"As long as you've got safe havens in these border regions that the Pakistani government can't control or reach, in effective ways, we're going to continue to see vulnerability on the Afghan side of the border," Obama said.

Obama's regional diplomacy is expected to draw in India, in hopes of reducing tensions with Pakistan, and possibly Iran, which in the past has bitterly opposed the Taliban.

While ex-president George W. Bush's administration spoke of building democracy and promoting women's rights in Afghanistan, the new administration sets its sights lower.

"I would say that at a minimum, the mission is to prevent the Taliban from retaking power against a democratically elected government in Afghanistan, thus turning Afghanistan, potentially again, into a haven for Al-Qaeda and other extremists," Defense Secretary Robert Gates said earlier this month.

Launched in the wake of the September 11 attacks in 2001, the US-led invasion of Afghanistan quickly succeeded in toppling the Taliban. But the focus soon shifted to Iraq, and Bush was later accused of failing to devote troops and resources to the Afghan mission.

Seven years later, the United States is sending in more soldiers and investing billions of dollars in a bid to prevent the country from reverting back to where it was before 9/11.