Obama & Karzai
*President Barack Obama made a surprise visit to Afghanistan on Sunday for a firsthand look at the 8-year-old war he inherited and dramatically escalated.
After an overnight flight from Washington, the president landed in Afghanistan for a stay of just a few hours, all in darkness. He flew by helicopter from Bagram Air Field to the capital, where he was greeted at the presidential palace by Afghan leader Hamid Karzai, given just an hour’s notice of Obama arrival. A military honor guard stood at attention as Obama walked across red carpets.
It was Obama’s second stop in a war zone as commander in chief, coming about a year after a similarly secretive trip to Iraq.
The Afghanistan trip was intended to let Obama tell Karzai that he must crack down on corruption and cut the flow of money from poppy production and drug trafficking that is sustaining the insurgency. The U.S. also wants Karzai to halt cronyism and rewards for warlords in government hiring and to create an effective, credible judicial system.
“This is something that simply has to be done,” said Obama’s national security adviser, Jim Jones. “Both presidents have to be on the same wavelength.”
The White House insisted that Karzai’s Cabinet participate in most of the meetings with Obama, making the point that Karzai must work with his ministers.
This trip, its secrecy forced by security concerns, was an extraordinary capstone to a momentous week in Obama’s presidency. He achieved the most ambitious domestic policy initiative in decades with a historic health care overhaul and scored first major foreign policy achievement with a significant new arms control treaty with Russia.
Read MORE of this AP report HERE.
BO is teaching amerikkka the true meaning of multi-tasking, especially after watching bush for eight years, who couldn’t walk and chew gum at the same time!
Conrad, always good 2 c ur fonts.
“This is something that simply has to be done,” said Obama’s national security adviser, Jim Jones.
Or what?
Karzai ain’t stupid. He knows that the only reason why Obama is willing to sacrifice the lives of hundreds of US soldiers; allow many more to be horribly maimed; waste a minimum of $30 billion in public money; and in the process kill many thousands of Afghan civilians, is to cover his flank in order to look tough in the eyes of the Republicans in the next election.
Hey, Reds. Isn’t that the very nature of war? Anyone who is the prez of these untied states will have to be a mofo to some extent. There is nothing squeaky clean about amerikkkan presidents. Carter tried to bring reasoning to the table and he was perceived as soft, was maligned by EVERYBODY and sent packing back to Georgia after one term. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that even in 2010, war is the way of the world. Just saw where Chechian (sp?) suicide bombers killed 45 in Russia, and the suicide bombers were women! I see TGen is back and it’s good to see her posts, even though I don’t always agree with her. One thing I don’t like about this new board is the comments ratings. I’ve seen perfectly benign statements or quoted statements receive a thumbs down, which makes no sense whatsoever.
But I think what Obama did in Afghanistan, the unnecessary escalation of the war, is exactly what leads to incidents like the bombing in Russia this morning. They have already admitted that there are less than 100 Al Qaeda members left in Afghanistan, so it has nothing to do with terrorism.
Matthew Hoh said he believes the war is simply fueling the insurgency. He is a former diplomat in a Taliban stronghold in Afghanistan, who resigned in protest of the war.