FACTBOX: Obama calibrates message to multiple audiences

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama was addressing U.S. army cadets at West Point and the entire nation on television as he unveiled his Afghan strategy on Tuesday night but his audience stretched far wider.

From the deserts of Afghanistan to the corridors of the U.S. Congress to Pakistan's military spy agency, Obama carefully calibrated his multiple messages.

TO AMERICAN CIVILIANS AND SOLDIERS TIRED OF WAR

Obama said he did not take this decision lightly because America's security is at stake. More troops are being sent now but, after 18 months, they will begin to come home.

The clear danger of setting a timeline for an exit -- something his Republican predecessor George W. Bush avoided when he announced his military "surge" in Iraq -- is that it encourages the Taliban to hunker down and wait for U.S. forces to leave.

Afghan civilians and moderates will be told by Taliban fighters that the United States already has one foot out the door and will not be around to protect them forever.

TO ANTI-WAR DEMOCRATS

Obama's message to fellow Democrats who oppose escalation in Afghanistan was a plea for patience and an implicit promise that he would not allow the war to turn into a new Vietnam.

He insisted he was already doing what he promised during last year's presidential campaign -- to unwind the U.S. military from an even more unpopular war in Iraq -- and they should now trust him not to get bogged down in an endless Afghan conflict.

"Today, after extraordinary costs, we are bringing the Iraq war to a responsible end," Obama said.

His assertion that Afghans must take ultimate responsibility for their own country and his setting of an 18-month deadline for starting a U.S. withdrawal was meant not only for Afghan ears but for the president's allies at home.

"Our troop commitment in Afghanistan cannot be open ended," he said, a comment Senate Democratic majority leader Harry Reid has already welcomed.

The timeline for an exit is also conveniently timed to coincide with the next U.S. presidential race in 2011, giving Obama and fellow Democrats hope they can begin to deliver better news on the campaign trail.

Despite that, the lack of more specifics on an exit strategy could be seen by war opponents as reminiscent of Bush's earlier approach in Iraq that drew bitter opposition.

TO REPUBLICANS WHO HAVE ACCUSED HIM OF DITHERING

Obama also pushed back against Republican critics who had accused him of dithering on his decision, trying to deny them the chance in next year's congressional elections to accuse him of failing as commander-in-chief.

"There has been no delay or denial of resources necessary for the conduct of the war," Obama said, adding that taking his time allowed him to ask the hard questions. "Given the stakes, I owed the American people -- and our troops -- no less."

But former Vice President Dick Cheney is unlikely to let up in his criticism of Obama for his lengthy deliberations and NATO allies like Britain have already suggested the delay made justifying the mission to their people even harder.

TO RECESSION-WEARY AMERICANS AND DEFICIT HAWKS

Obama told ordinary Americans he felt their pain over the economy and would do everything possible to keep war costs from getting out of control.

In the process, he was careful to throw some of the blame for the economic mess back on Bush.

"By the time I took office, the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan approached a trillion dollars. Going forward, I am committed to addressing these costs openly and honestly," Obama said.

He also sent a message to deficit hawks on Capitol Hill when he said: "Our new approach in Afghanistan is likely to cost us roughly $30 billion for the military this year, and I will work closely with Congress to address these costs."

But Obama gave no specifics on how he would find the money. Higher war costs will be a hard sell and could complicate big-ticket domestic items like healthcare reform and climate change legislation.

TO PAKISTANIS WHO FEAR THE U.S. WILL ABANDON THEM

Pakistan's establishment still feels scarred by the sudden U.S. abandonment of Afghanistan after the fall of the Soviet-backed government there in 1992.

"Moving forward, we are committed to a partnership with Pakistan that is built on a foundation of mutual interests, mutual respect and mutual trust," Obama said.

The question is whether these words will be enough to convince the Pakistani military and spy agencies, some of whom are still thought to harbor ties with the Afghan Taliban. Pakistan has traditionally seen the Taliban as an insurance policy against creeping Indian influence in Afghanistan.

TO AFGHAN PRESIDENT HAMID KARZAI

"The days of providing a blank check are over," Obama said.

In a hint the United States is ready to explore ways to bypass the Afghan president, Obama said ministries, governors and local leaders who combat corruption and deliver services will be supported but those who are ineffective or corrupt should be held accountable.

But Karzai still dominates Afghan politics and cannily outmaneuvered both his opponents and the West during August's fraud-plagued election.

TO AMERICAN ALLIES

"Now we must come together to end this war successfully," Obama said. "For what's at stake is not simply a test of NATO's credibility. What's at stake is the security of our allies and the common security of the world."

In war-weary European capitals, though, sending more troops to Afghanistan will remain a very hard sell.

(Reporting by Matt Spetalnick and Simon Denyer; Editing by John O'Callaghan)