John
12-03-2010, 10:06 PM
President Barack Obama paid a surprise visit to Afghanistan late Friday and assured cheering US troops they are winning the war against the Taliban, but warned of "difficult days ahead" as he takes a hard look at his war strategy.
The president landed in Kabul under cover of darkness, with aides announcing nothing of the trip beforehand due to security concerns.
Obama, who has tripled US troop numbers in Afghanistan, spent a mere four hours in the country, all at Bagram Air Base.
A face-to-face visit with President Hamid Karzai was replaced with a 15-minute phone call, as weather scuppered plans to fly Obama by helicopter to nearby Kabul.
The commander in chief's arrival -- his second such visit since he became president nearly two years ago -- was greeted by cheers and applause from more than 3,800 exuberant troops at Bagram.
"You're achieving your objectives, you will succeed in your mission," Obama told them.
"We said we were going to break the Taliban's momentum. That's what you're doing."
But Obama warned "there are going to be difficult days ahead" in the fight against insurgents, and appeared to choke up as he described his visit to a base hospital where he pinned Purple Heart medals on five wounded soldiers spending the holiday season on the battlefront.
He also spoke to a platoon that recently lost six of its members in an attack.
"I don't need to tell you this is a tough fight," Obama said.
But the president stressed that "today we can be proud that there are fewer areas under Taliban control, and more Afghans have a chance to build a more hopeful future."
He also noted the allied coalition had grown by six since his last visit in March to 49 countries.
"This sends a powerful message, that the coalition of nations that supports Afghanistan is strong," he said.
"We will never let this country serve as a safe haven for terrorists who would attack the United States of America again.
"This part of the world is a center of a global effort where we are going to disrupt and dismantle and defeat Al-Qaeda and its extremist allies, and that's why we're here," Obama added.
Sporting a leather bomber jacket, Obama was met by US ambassador Karl Eikenberry and war commander General David Petraeus, who Obama praised as an "extraordinary warrior."
"This is somebody who has helped change the way we fight war, and win wars, in the 21st century," he added.
After his address, Obama shook hands and took pictures with several hundred troops at a ropeline, and received a briefing from US Special Forces before departing early Saturday.
The trip came as his administration faced new friction with Karzai over embarrassing assessments of the Afghan leader in leaked diplomatic cables. The Obama administration is working on a review of its war strategy to be completed before the president leaves for a holiday break in late December.
During a summit in Lisbon last month, the NATO alliance backed Obama's goal of handing over security to the Afghan police and military by next year, with a view to ceding full control by the end of 2014.
Some 100,000 US troops are fighting in Afghanistan as part of Obama's ramped-up strategy to battle insurgents, nine years after the United States ousted the Taliban regime for harboring September 11 attack mastermind Osama bin Laden.
Obama sought to personalize the service and sacrifice of the troops before him at Bagram, citing a soldier who received the Medal of Honor for his service in Afghanistan and who called each of his military colleagues heroes.
"He's right," Obama said of Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta. "Each of you have your own story. Each of you is writing your own chapter with the story of America... Each of you have losses. Each of you have made sacrifices."
White House aide Ben Rhodes said the White House began preparing the Kabul visit more than a month ago as Obama wanted to visit US troops and civilians in Afghanistan between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
But the trip followed the latest release by WikiLeaks, in which secret US diplomatic cables showed renewed US questions about Karzai's leadership and rising concerns about corruption.
Along with questions about Karzai, the Obama administration has also seen uncertain signs oft progress on the military front. The US military has held off on plans for a major offensive on the key city of Kandahar, a Taliban stronghold.
Source - Yahoo News.
The president landed in Kabul under cover of darkness, with aides announcing nothing of the trip beforehand due to security concerns.
Obama, who has tripled US troop numbers in Afghanistan, spent a mere four hours in the country, all at Bagram Air Base.
A face-to-face visit with President Hamid Karzai was replaced with a 15-minute phone call, as weather scuppered plans to fly Obama by helicopter to nearby Kabul.
The commander in chief's arrival -- his second such visit since he became president nearly two years ago -- was greeted by cheers and applause from more than 3,800 exuberant troops at Bagram.
"You're achieving your objectives, you will succeed in your mission," Obama told them.
"We said we were going to break the Taliban's momentum. That's what you're doing."
But Obama warned "there are going to be difficult days ahead" in the fight against insurgents, and appeared to choke up as he described his visit to a base hospital where he pinned Purple Heart medals on five wounded soldiers spending the holiday season on the battlefront.
He also spoke to a platoon that recently lost six of its members in an attack.
"I don't need to tell you this is a tough fight," Obama said.
But the president stressed that "today we can be proud that there are fewer areas under Taliban control, and more Afghans have a chance to build a more hopeful future."
He also noted the allied coalition had grown by six since his last visit in March to 49 countries.
"This sends a powerful message, that the coalition of nations that supports Afghanistan is strong," he said.
"We will never let this country serve as a safe haven for terrorists who would attack the United States of America again.
"This part of the world is a center of a global effort where we are going to disrupt and dismantle and defeat Al-Qaeda and its extremist allies, and that's why we're here," Obama added.
Sporting a leather bomber jacket, Obama was met by US ambassador Karl Eikenberry and war commander General David Petraeus, who Obama praised as an "extraordinary warrior."
"This is somebody who has helped change the way we fight war, and win wars, in the 21st century," he added.
After his address, Obama shook hands and took pictures with several hundred troops at a ropeline, and received a briefing from US Special Forces before departing early Saturday.
The trip came as his administration faced new friction with Karzai over embarrassing assessments of the Afghan leader in leaked diplomatic cables. The Obama administration is working on a review of its war strategy to be completed before the president leaves for a holiday break in late December.
During a summit in Lisbon last month, the NATO alliance backed Obama's goal of handing over security to the Afghan police and military by next year, with a view to ceding full control by the end of 2014.
Some 100,000 US troops are fighting in Afghanistan as part of Obama's ramped-up strategy to battle insurgents, nine years after the United States ousted the Taliban regime for harboring September 11 attack mastermind Osama bin Laden.
Obama sought to personalize the service and sacrifice of the troops before him at Bagram, citing a soldier who received the Medal of Honor for his service in Afghanistan and who called each of his military colleagues heroes.
"He's right," Obama said of Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta. "Each of you have your own story. Each of you is writing your own chapter with the story of America... Each of you have losses. Each of you have made sacrifices."
White House aide Ben Rhodes said the White House began preparing the Kabul visit more than a month ago as Obama wanted to visit US troops and civilians in Afghanistan between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
But the trip followed the latest release by WikiLeaks, in which secret US diplomatic cables showed renewed US questions about Karzai's leadership and rising concerns about corruption.
Along with questions about Karzai, the Obama administration has also seen uncertain signs oft progress on the military front. The US military has held off on plans for a major offensive on the key city of Kandahar, a Taliban stronghold.
Source - Yahoo News.