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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Cheney in surprise Afghan visit | Cheney in surprise Afghan visit |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| US Vice-President Dick Cheney has arrived in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on an unannounced visit, reports say. | US Vice-President Dick Cheney has arrived in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on an unannounced visit, reports say. |
| Mr Cheney is expected to hold talks with President Hamid Karzai at the presidential palace, ahead of a meeting of Nato partners. | Mr Cheney is expected to hold talks with President Hamid Karzai at the presidential palace, ahead of a meeting of Nato partners. |
| It is Mr Cheney's fourth trip to Afghanistan as vice-president. | It is Mr Cheney's fourth trip to Afghanistan as vice-president. |
| Mr Cheney arrived from Iraq, where his visit coincided with the fifth anniversary of the US-led invasion of the country. | Mr Cheney arrived from Iraq, where his visit coincided with the fifth anniversary of the US-led invasion of the country. |
| The two men will discuss security and democracy in Afghanistan, and the ways in which the US can continue to support it, a spokeswoman for Mr Cheney said. | The two men will discuss security and democracy in Afghanistan, and the ways in which the US can continue to support it, a spokeswoman for Mr Cheney said. |
| Troop numbers | |
| Mr Cheney is also expected to meet US troops stationed there. | |
| US troops make up a third of the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf). | |
| A further 7,000 troops are part of a US-led coalition there, and some 3,200 Marines slated for a seven-month deployment in the south have begun arriving in Kandahar. | |
| Afghanistan will be a key topic at a Nato summit early next month in Romania, as Nato force commanders have asked for more troops to send to the south, where the insurgency is the most active. | |
| Canada, which has more than 2,000 troops in the south, has threatened to pull out unless Nato provide another 1,000 soldiers to reinforce its combat forces. |