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Obama slips into Afghanistan

Faster horses

Well-known member
KABUL – Under elaborate secrecy, President Barack Obama slipped into Afghanistan on Sunday near the front lines of the increasingly bloody 8-year-old war he is expanding and affirmed America's commitment to destroying al-Qaida and its extremist allies in the land where the 9-11 plot was hatched.

Obama's six-hour visit was conducted entirely under the shroud of nightfall, after Air Force One's unannounced flight from the U.S. Obama defended his decision to escalate the fight, telling troops whose numbers he is tripling that their victory is imperative to America's safety.

His bid to shore up faith in the struggle was aimed both at the troops who cheered him and Americans back home. And, he demanded accountability from Afghan authorities to make good on repeated promises to improve living conditions, rein in corruption and enforce the rule of law to prevent people from joining the insurgency.

"Your services are absolutely necessary, absolutely essential to America's safety and security," the president told a lively crowd of about 2,500 troops and civilians at Bagram Air Field north of Kabul. "Those folks back home are relying on you. We can't forget why we're here."

It was Obama's first trip as president to Afghanistan, where the number of U.S. troops killed has roughly doubled in the first three months of 2010 compared with the same period last year as Washington has added tens of thousands of additional soldiers to reverse the Taliban's momentum.

"We did not choose this war," Obama reminded the troops, recalling the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and warning that al-Qaida was still using the region to plan terrorist strikes against the U.S. and its allies. "We are going to disrupt and dismantle, defeat and destroy al-Qaida and its extremist allies."

Obama had gone Friday afternoon to the presidential retreat at Camp David, Md., from which unnoticed departures are easier because of its secluded mountain location. The small contingent of White House aides and media brought on the trip were sworn to secrecy. Obama arrived in Kabul just two days after a threatening new audio message from al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, believed to be hiding along the ungoverned border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"I thought I'd come over and say hello," Obama told the troops in a jaunty remark that set the stage for stark reminders of the terrorist threat that rose from this soil.

"If this region slides backwards," he said, "if the Taliban retakes this country, al-Qaida can operate with impunity, then more American lives will be at stake, the Afghan people will lose their opportunity for progress and prosperity and the world will be significantly less secure. As long as I'm your commander in chief, I'm not going to let that happen."

That resolve was meant just as surely for stateside citizens as for the people who heard it face to face. Polls find that Americans are divided on the war if, more recently, favorable to Obama's handling of it.

Obama's dark suit was soiled with dust when he stepped off his helicopter at the presidential palace in Kabul. White House officials said Obama, in private talks, wanted to drive home the point that Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his Cabinet must do more to battle corruption and cronyism in government.

Karzai "needs to be seized with how important that is," said Jim Jones, Obama's national security adviser. Karzai has raised eyebrows in Washington with recent trips to Iran, China and Pakistan and his welcoming Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Kabul this month.

In public remarks,Obama told Karzai and his cabinet that he was pleased with progress made since their last discussion by secure videoconference on March 15. Obama invited him to visit Washington on May 12. He also praised recent steps in the military campaign against insurgents. But he stressed that Afghans need to see conditions on the ground get better.

"Progress will continue to be made ... but we also want to continue to make progress on the civilian front," Obama said, referring to anti-corruption efforts, good governance and adherence to the rule of law. "All of these things end up resulting in an Afghanistan that is more prosperous and more secure."

Karzai promised that his country "would move forward into the future" to eventually take over its own security, and he thanked Obama for the American intervention in his country.

He told Obama he has begun to establish more credible national institutions on corruption and made clear he intends to make ministerial appointments more representative of the multiple ethnic and geographic regions of the country, according to a U.S. account of the meeting.

The White House insisted that Karzai's Cabinet participate in most of the meetings with Obama, a way to empower talented administrators who have been marginalized by presidential cronyism.

Jones said: "We have to have the strategic rapport with President Karzai and his cabinet to understand how we are going to succeed this year in reversing the momentum the Taliban and the opposition forces have been able to establish since 2006."

The Afghan government has tried to tackle corruption in the past with little success but Karzai pledged after fraud-marred August elections to rein in graft by making officials declare their assets and giving the country's anti-corruption watchdog more power to go after those accused of misusing their office. This month he gave more powers to an anti-corruption body, including the authority to refer cases to court and act as prosecutor.

Initially, the White House said Karzai had been informed of Obama's impending visit just an hour before his arrival. But Obama's press secretary, Robert Gibbs, said later that the Afghan government was told about the trip on Thursday.

At least 945 members of the U.S. military have died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan since the U.S. campaign started in late 2001, according to an Associated Press count.

Obama, speaking to troops in a cavernous tent known as the "clam shell," said, "We know there's going to be some difficult days ahead, there's going to be setbacks. We face a determined enemy, but we also know this: the United States of America does not quit once it starts on something. We will prevail, I am absolutely confident of that."

In December, Obama ordered 30,000 additional forces into the fight against the Taliban. Those new U.S. troops are still arriving and most are expected to be in place by summer, for a full force of roughly 100,000 U.S. troops. There were about 34,000 when Obama took office.

AP writers Robert H. Reid and Deb Riechmann contributed to this report.
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Tam

Well-known member
And, he demanded accountability from Afghan authorities to make good on repeated promises to improve living conditions, rein in corruption and enforce the rule of law to prevent people from joining the insurgency.

Now ain't that sweet Obama demanded ACCOUNTABILITY, and want Afghan authorities to KEEP PROMISES, REIN IN CORRUPTION and ENFORCE THE RULE OF LAW. He wants the Afghan leader to dismiss some of his administration as they are corrupt. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Is this not the same guy that just bribed, threatened, and broke more than a few promises to take over 1/6 of the US economy under the objection of a MAJORITY of US citizens? :? The same guy that has appointed tax cheats and RADICAL Leftist and UNION Leaders to his Administration without the approval of the Senate. :? And he is telling the Afghan authorities to clean up their act. :shock: :???: :shock:

The US was a country that lead by example but the way Obama runs his Administration I think he might be taking the lead from a few of these countries the US has been fighting to clean up. With of course Castro's approval. :roll: :x

This guy is such a hypocrite he surely lives by the Dem. rule of DO AS I SAY NOT AS I DO. :mad:
 

Mike

Well-known member
Tam said:
And, he demanded accountability from Afghan authorities to make good on repeated promises to improve living conditions, rein in corruption and enforce the rule of law to prevent people from joining the insurgency.

Now ain't that sweet Obama demanded ACCOUNTABILITY, and want Afghan authorities to KEEP PROMISES, REIN IN CORRUPTION and ENFORCE THE RULE OF LAW. He wants the Afghan leader to dismiss some of his administration as they are corrupt. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Is this not the same guy that just bribed, threatened, and broke more than a few promises to take over 1/6 of the US economy under the objection of a MAJORITY of US citizens? :? The same guy that has appointed tax cheats and RADICAL Leftist and UNION Leaders to his Administration without the approval of the Senate. :? And he is telling the Afghan authorities to clean up their act. :shock: :???: :shock:

The US was a country that lead by example but the way Obama runs his Administration I think he might be taking the lead from a few of these countries the US has been fighting to clean up. With of course Castro's approval. :roll: :x

This guy is such a hypocrite he surely lives by the Dem. rule of DO AS I SAY NOT AS I DO. :mad:

WE TOLD THEM SO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

Tam

Well-known member
BTW what does a six hour visit in the dark of night tell you about how Obama thinks the war is going and what does it tell the terrorists.? I heard one Military guy say that it looked as if Obama was scare to show up in the day light as it wouldn't be safe and that if the Terrorists saw it that way it might empower them in their fight. :???:

And Again telling the Afghans to clean up their act after what the Dems just did in Washington :roll: :roll: :roll:
 

loomixguy

Well-known member
Miss Tam...TWAP HAD to visit at night. Otherwise, if it was daylight, he would have been called to prayer several times during his visit. :wink:
 

jigs

Well-known member
loomixguy said:
Miss Tam...TWAP HAD to visit at night. Otherwise, if it was daylight, he would have been called to prayer several times during his visit. :wink:

point well taken!
 

garn

Well-known member
Tam said:
BTW what does a six hour visit in the dark of night tell you about how Obama thinks the war is going and what does it tell the terrorists.? I heard one Military guy say that it looked as if Obama was scare to show up in the day light as it wouldn't be safe and that if the Terrorists saw it that way it might empower them in their fight. :???:

And Again telling the Afghans to clean up their act after what the Dems just did in Washington :roll: :roll: :roll:

taking into consideration the time change and what not, what time of day was it in Iraq that President Bush made his surprise Thanksgiving trip?

I honestly don't remember.
 

montanastate33

Well-known member
garn said:
Tam said:
BTW what does a six hour visit in the dark of night tell you about how Obama thinks the war is going and what does it tell the terrorists.? I heard one Military guy say that it looked as if Obama was scare to show up in the day light as it wouldn't be safe and that if the Terrorists saw it that way it might empower them in their fight. :???:

And Again telling the Afghans to clean up their act after what the Dems just did in Washington :roll: :roll: :roll:

taking into consideration the time change and what not, what time of day was it in Iraq that President Bush made his surprise Thanksgiving trip?

I honestly don't remember.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- President Bush returned to Texas early Friday after making an unannounced visit to Baghdad to spend part of Thanksgiving Day with U.S. troops -- a trip that surprised not only the soldiers but also virtually everyone else in the world.

Bush touched down in Waco, Texas, around 3:45 a.m. (4:45 a.m. EST) Friday en route to his ranch in nearby Crawford. He had arrived at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland several hours earlier.

His visit marked the first time a U.S. president had traveled to Iraq, and concern for Bush's safety kept the trip cloaked in secrecy. Even some members of the Secret Service were kept in the dark about it.

The whirlwind trip came amid persistent insurgent attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq -- and less than a week after a cargo plane was struck by a missile and forced to land at the Baghdad airport.

Air Force One, with its lights turned off for security reasons, touched down at Baghdad International Airport at 5:31 p.m. (9:31 a.m. EST) and taxied to a remote corner of the airport.

Bush then went to a hangar where about 600 members of the 1st Armored Division and the 82nd Airborne Division had gathered.

The U.S. forces had been told that L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. civilian administrator in Iraq, and Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commander of coalition forces, would be attending the dinner.

As Bremer prepared to read a presidential proclamation to the troops, he said, "Let's see if we've got anybody more senior here who can read the president's Thanksgiving speech. Is there anybody back there who's more senior than I?"

Bush then emerged, misty-eyed and wearing a U.S. Army exercise jacket, to a roaring ovation.

The shocked and elated soldiers jumped to their feet, pumped their fists in the air, roared with delight, and grabbed their cameras to snap photographs.

"I was just looking for a warm meal somewhere," Bush joked, and added: "I can't think of a finer group of folks to have dinner with."

Then the commander-in-chief got serious.

"You are defending the American people from danger and we are grateful. You are defeating the terrorists here in Iraq."

The insurgents in the country are "testing our will. They hope we will run," he said.

But, he said, "we did not charge hundreds of miles into the heart of Iraq, pay a bitter cost of casualties, defeat a ruthless dictator and liberate 25 million people only to retreat before a band of thugs and assassins."

That line prompted a standing ovation.

"We will prevail. We will stay until the job is done," he said.

Afterward, Bush mingled with soldiers and temporarily joined the servers on the food line to dish out sweet potatoes and corn.

"It gave us a little extra oomph," Spc. Talitha Williams, an Arkansas native assigned to the 1st Armored Division. "Maybe we can get through this."

"It felt good," said Spc. Juan Deloera, also with the 1st Armored Division. "It really boosted my morale."

"It helps a lot knowing that the commander in chief himself is going to come out here and make some of the same sacrifices away from his family, away from his home, to show that he is devoted and in the same position that we are," said Pvt. Patrick McFarland of the 1st Armored Division.

"That's where your mind is, on home this time of the year, and you think about your loved ones, your friends and things like that, and then you have the leader of our country come here and share dinner with us. It's actually very special," said Sgt. Robert Dunn, a Dallas native with the 1st Armored Division.

The president also went behind closed doors for two separate meetings with U.S. commanders and four members of the Iraq Governing Council. After being on the ground 2.5 hours, the president left Baghdad around 8 p.m. (noon EST).
 

Tam

Well-known member
garn said:
Tam said:
BTW what does a six hour visit in the dark of night tell you about how Obama thinks the war is going and what does it tell the terrorists.? I heard one Military guy say that it looked as if Obama was scare to show up in the day light as it wouldn't be safe and that if the Terrorists saw it that way it might empower them in their fight. :???:

And Again telling the Afghans to clean up their act after what the Dems just did in Washington :roll: :roll: :roll:

taking into consideration the time change and what not, what time of day was it in Iraq that President Bush made his surprise Thanksgiving trip?

I honestly don't remember.

So tell us what do you think of Obama waking the soldiers up in the middle of the night for a "Photo Op"?
Not to forget Obama interupted more than a few Afghans good night sleep, which including that of the band that played to welcome him so he could have a "talk" with their leader. This after Obama's disgraceful treatment of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the leader of one of the US Long Time Allies when he wouldn't interupt his dinner to properly entertain him not to mention take a picture with him. :roll: :x Where in the H*LL is the White House Protocol Officer and why hasn't he/she been FIRED for repeatedly allowing this President to offend ALLIES while playing up to the ENEMIES? :mad:
 
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