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Obama Makes Surprise Visit to Troops in Afghanistan Obama Makes Surprise Trip to Afghanistan
(35 minutes later)
WASHINGTON — During a surprise trip to Afghanistan on Sunday, President Obama thanked American troops for their service during a decade of war, saying that their sacrifices had ensured the country would never again be used as a base for terrorist attacks against the United States. KABUL, Afghanistan — The last time President Obama visited Afghanistan, he came to sign a strategic partnership agreement with President Hamid Karzai.
“I thank you as your commander in chief because you inspire me,” Mr. Obama told about 3,000 troops in a hangar at Bagram Airfield after landing in the country early Sunday morning. “I’m here to say thank you. And I’m here to say how proud I am of you.” But that was two years ago. When Mr. Obama returned to Afghanistan on Sunday, conspicuously absent from the agenda was a meeting with Mr. Karzai, who has staunchly opposed an enduring American presence here.
The trip was unannounced, and Mr. Obama slipped out of the White House secretly on Saturday evening in advance of rally ahead of Memorial Day. Brad Paisley, a country music singer, traveled on Air Force One with Mr. Obama to Afghanistan and performed for about an hour before Mr. Obama spoke. The trip to Afghanistan was unannounced, and Mr. Obama slipped out of the White House secretly on Saturday evening. He arrived a day ahead of Memorial Day under the cover of darkness at Bagram Air Base, the sprawling American encampment north of Kabul, accompanied by the country music singer Brad Paisley, who performed for about an hour before the president spoke to troops.
White House officials said the trip was intended as a visit with troops, not as an opportunity for Mr. Obama to meet with Afghanistan’s president, Hamid Karzai. They said American officials had offered Mr. Karzai the opportunity to meet Mr. Obama at Bagram Airfield, but were not surprised that it did not happen. Though Mr. Obama did not meet with Mr. Karzai, who is to leave office in the coming months, he vowed that he would work with whoever wins the presidential runoff scheduled for June 14: either Abdullah Abdullah or Ashraf Ghani.
Mr. Obama did speak with Mr. Karzai for about 15 minutes, and according to a White House official, "also looks forward to working with Afghanistan’s next president after the election is complete.” Afghanistan's presidential runoff election is scheduled for June 14 between Abdullah Abdullah or Ashraf Ghani. White House officials said that the trip, Mr. Obama’s fourth to Afghanistan since taking office, was intended strictly as a visit with troops, and that they wanted to avoid any appearance of trying to sway the Afghan political process.
In his remarks to the troops, Mr. Obama made clear that he still intended to keep a small military force in Afghanistan beyond 2014 despite longstanding resistance to an enduring American presence from Mr. Karzai. Mr. Obama’s comments indicated that he may have ruled out the idea of a complete withdrawal of all American forces when the N.A.T.O.-led combat mission ends later this year. They said American officials offered Mr. Karzai the opportunity to join Mr. Obama at Bagram, but were not surprised when the Afghan leader turned them down. A statement from Mr. Karzai’s office was terse about the invitation: “The president of Afghanistan said that he was ready to warmly welcome the president of the United States in accordance with Afghan traditions,” it said, “but had no intention of meeting him at Bagram.”
“Once Afghanistan has sworn in its new president, I’m hopeful we will sign a bilateral security agreement that lets us move forward,” he said. “And with that bilateral security agreement, assuming it is signed, we can plan for a limited military presence in Afghanistan beyond 2014.” But officials said Mr. Obama did talk by phone to Mr. Karzai for 15 to 20 minutes. They said he praised Mr. Karzai for progress being made by the Afghan security forces and for the recent presidential voting in the country. 
Mr. Obama vowed that “we are going to make sure that Afghanistan can never again — ever — be used to launch a terrorist attack against our country.” The call was only their second conversation in nearly a year. The first one came in February, when Mr. Karzai called Mr. Obama to say that he would not be signing a long-term security deal with the United States.
Mr. Obama, in his remarks to troops on Sunday, made it clear that he still wanted the deal signed, allowing the United States to keep a small military force in Afghanistan beyond 2014. His comments indicated that he may have ruled out the idea of a complete withdrawal of American forces at the end of this year, a move that administration officials had repeatedly threatened was possible at difficult points in the negotiations over the security deal.
“Once Afghanistan has sworn in its new president, I’m hopeful we will sign a bilateral security agreement that lets us move forward,” Mr. Obama said. And he vowed, “We are going to make sure that Afghanistan can never again — ever — be used to launch a terrorist attack against our country.”
Mr. Obama got his biggest applause from the troops when he praised them for making sure that “America’s war in Afghanistan will come to a responsible end.” The crowd also roared with approval when the president said he frequently tells corporate leaders, “If you want somebody who can get the job done, hire a vet.”Mr. Obama got his biggest applause from the troops when he praised them for making sure that “America’s war in Afghanistan will come to a responsible end.” The crowd also roared with approval when the president said he frequently tells corporate leaders, “If you want somebody who can get the job done, hire a vet.”
The president did not make any major policy announcements in his remarks to the troops. He is expected to wait until he returns to the United States to offer his latest foreign policy and national security vision, during a speech that he is scheduled to give at the West Point graduation on Wednesday. Troops used smartphones to record the visit. Afterward, Mr. Obama walked through the crowd to shake hands, saying he would pose for pictures with anyone who wanted one.
Mr. Obama spent a total of about four hours in Afghanistan, including a brief, private visit to the base’s military hospital. He departed at just after midnight local time, headed for a refueling stop at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. White House officials said there was no connection between Mr. Obama’s trip, which they said was planned months ago, and the furor over misconduct at veterans’ hospitals in the United States. But the visit will provide the president a symbolic military backdrop as his administration tries to fight accusations of mismanagement back home.
In 2009, Mr. Obama used a similar setting at West Point to announce a decision to add more troops to the effort in Afghanistan, pushing the total United States presence there past 100,000, while at the same time saying he intended to draw down the effort there over several years. Mr. Obama did not make any major policy announcements in his remarks to the troops. He is expected to wait to offer his latest foreign policy and national security vision during a speech that he is scheduled to give at the West Point graduation on Wednesday. In 2009, he used a similar setting at West Point to announce a decision to add more troops to the effort in Afghanistan, pushing the total United States presence there past 100,000.
Mr. Obama has said that all United States combat troops will have left Afghanistan by the end of this year. American officials hope to leave a small contingent of forces beyond the 2014 withdrawal deadline for the international security force in Afghanistan, to allow for more training of Afghan forces and continuing counterterrorism operations. The total number of American troops here is now down to around 32,000, and American officials hope to leave a far smaller contingent after 2014 to continue training Afghan forces and targeting the remnants of Al Qaeda. Officials say the administration is still deciding how large the force will be.
Mr. Karzai had negotiated an agreement to allow for such a force to remain, but later refused to sign it. Both of the remaining presidential candidates have indicated that they would sign the agreement upon taking office. Though Mr. Karzai has refused to sign the agreement for such a force to remain, both of the presidential candidates have indicated that they would sign the agreement upon taking office.
The visit to Afghanistan comes as Mr. Obama prepares to draw the second of two wars to an official close, making good on a promise that he made as a candidate to pull the United States out of such conflicts. After Mr. Karzai dug in on the troop deal in February, administration officials began pointedly looking past him. That came as almost a relief to some, who expressed anger and frustration at the Afghan leader’s increasingly harsh criticism. Mr. Karzai has repeatedly berated the United States for deaths of Afghan civilians and for raids on Afghan homes and the detentions of thousands of Afghans suspected of fighting with or aiding the Taliban.
But Mr. Obama has also struggled to define the parameters of his foreign policy as he has been confronted with other conflicts in Iran, Syria, Libya and the ongoing tension with Russia in Ukraine. Ben Rhodes, the president’s deputy national security adviser, told reporters that Mr. Obama is likely to speak about that issue when he returns from Afghanistan. The Afghan government’s latest salvo against the United States came hours before Mr. Obama arrived at Bagram, when the presidential palace issued a statement denouncing the reported mass recording of phone calls in Afghanistan by the National Security Agency.
It called the spying a “violation of national sovereignty and a violation of human and citizenship rights of Afghans,” and said that equipment brought by American and British forces to help ferret out opium traffickers was being used to record calls. The statement said it would seek to shut down the eavesdropping.
Even as Mr. Obama’s visit was a step toward drawing the second of two American wars to an official close, he has struggled to define the parameters of his foreign policy as he has been confronted with other conflicts in Iran, Syria and Libya and the tension with Russia in Ukraine. Ben Rhodes, the president’s deputy national security adviser, told reporters that Mr. Obama was likely to speak about that issue when he returns from Afghanistan.
“We are at a bit of a turning point in our foreign policy generally,” Mr. Rhodes told reporters traveling aboard Air Force One. “Our foreign policy is going to be a lot different than it has been over the past decade, and the president will speak to what that transition will mean.”“We are at a bit of a turning point in our foreign policy generally,” Mr. Rhodes told reporters traveling aboard Air Force One. “Our foreign policy is going to be a lot different than it has been over the past decade, and the president will speak to what that transition will mean.”
“We have been looking for some period of time to come to Afghanistan. After the first round of the election, we thought it would be a good time to come for a troop-focused visit,” Mr. Rhodes said, adding that the decision not to meet with the candidates or Mr. Karzai was made because “we didn’t want to get in the middle of election season.”
Sunday’s visit marks the fourth time that Mr. Obama has traveled to Afghanistan as president and comes as he and his national security team weigh how to proceed with a postwar presence in the country.
Mr. Rhodes said that officials are still weighing what that commitment might look like, and said that no decisions had been made. He said that Mr. Obama believed that the surprise visit to Afghanistan was an important part of hearing directly from his commanders about the future of the mission.
“We also of course are making some decisions about the future of our commitment to Afghanistan,” Mr. Rhodes said. “It is important for him to come before he articulates a decision.”
White House officials said there was no connection between Mr. Obama’s surprise trip, which was planned months ago, and the furor over misconduct and shoddy treatment at veterans’ hospitals in the United States. But the visit provided the president a highly symbolic military backdrop even as his administration fights charges of incompetence and mismanagement back home.