President Obama makes surprise trip to Afghanistan!
I don’t know why I was under the distinct impression that the president was going overseas and not to Afghanistan, then again since the original trip was canceled if appears that he may have decided to make a lot of troops very happy, much to the chagrin, no doubt, of an equally surprised Afghan president Hamid Karzai. Read the story from TPM:
President Obama made an surprise stop in Afghanistan today, his first visit to the war zone since moving into the White House. The one-day visit, which lasted a total of about 6 hours, included talks with Afghan president Hamid Karzai and his government, which the U.S. sees as key to completing its mission in Afghanistan on on the timetable Obama outlined in December. While on the ground, Obama also addressed U.S. troops and met with American commanders.
Air Force One touched down at Bagram Air Force Base overnight, after leaving Andrews Air Force base under cover of secrecy on Saturday. Accompanying Obama on the trip were members of Obama’s national security team, including members of the White House national security team, including National Security Adviser Jim Jones. The White House said the trip had been planned since Thursday, but told reporters the flight was unannounced “for security reasons.”
Obama and Afghan president Hamid Karzai appeared briefly before reporters in Kabul, where the Obama announced that Karzai will visit the U.S. for more talks next month.
In Afghanistan today, Obama met with Karzai one-on-one for about a half hour. The White House described the talks as “very productive” and “businesslike,” and included discussions of about “governance, merit-based appointments of Afghan officials, and corruption,” according to reports from the ground.
After the meeting, Karzai told reporters that he was grateful for the continued American efforts in Afghanistan. Obama said he was “encouraged by the progress that’s been made” by Karzai’s regime.
But it was clear from reports that one of the American goals on the trip was to push Karzai’s government to do better. After Obama and Karzai met, the American delegation — which also included U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eichenberry — met with members of the Afghan cabinet to discuss the future, which Americans hope will include the scaling up of Afghan security forces and the scaling down of American involvement.
What surprise visit, didn’t the pilot know where he was going?
No. They told him to turn around in mid-air. He was headed to Jersey.
Good luck to Obama talking to the Afghanis about “corruption”, it’s part of their way of life, it’s what they do best. What we call corruption, they call “doing business.”
So true. It is their culture and their very paradigm.