President Obama’s counterterrorism strategy is narrowly focused on al-Qaeda and its ability to strike the U.S. homeland and is “not designed to combat directly every single terrorist organization in every corner of the world,” White House counterterrorism chief John O. Brennan said Wednesday. Acknowledging that the president’s goals “track closely with the goals” of the George W. Bush administration, Brennan said Obama’s strategy “neither represents a wholesale overhaul, nor a wholesale retention, of previous policies.” He spoke in a speech unveiling Obama’s national strategy for counterterrorism. He acknowledged that the U.S. relationship with Pakistan “is not without tension or frustration” but said that continued cooperation is “essential.” “As frustrating as this relationship can sometimes be,” he said, “Pakistan has been critical to many of our most significant successes against al-Qaeda. Tens of thousands of Pakistanis — military and civilian — have given their lives in the fight against militancy. And despite recent tensions, I am confident that Pakistan will remain one of our most important counterterrorism partners.”