Hours after being named a Nobel peace laureate, US President Barack Obama shouldered his duties as commander in chief and convened a war council for crucial talks on Afghan strategy. Mr Obama gathered his top political, military and security aides for the fourth in a series of in-depth consultations on rescuing the US mission in the unpopular eight-year war. The president was scheduled to be briefed by Afghan war commander General Stanley McChrystal on his report warning that the US counter-insurgency mission in Afghanistan could fail within a year without more troops. The meeting came amid more suggestions of tension between the White House and top military brass on the best way forward. Earlier, the White House made a clear distinction between Al Qaeda and the lesser threat they say is posed to US security by the Taliban.