Obama presses Karzai on graft purge
US president asks troops to defeat Taliban in surprise Kabul visit
Afp, Kabul
US President Barack Obama - L- visits troops in the Dragon dining facility at Bagram Air Base on Sunday. Obama thanked the Afghan people and US troops for their sacrifices in the war in Afghanistan, and vowed to reverse the Taliban's momentum. PHOTO: AFP Photo: AFP
US President Barack Obama pressed Afghan leader Hamid Karzai to show progress in cleaning up corruption and rallied troops to defeat the Taliban during a surprise night-time visit to Afghanistan.
Obama flew into Afghanistan under the cover of darkness aboard Air Force One and left before dawn Monday for his first visit to the country since taking office more than a year ago.
The war against the Taliban, now in its ninth year, is claiming record fatalities among the 121,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, where Obama is deploying reinforcements in an effort to bring the long war to an end.
The visit -- which included briefings with US General Stanley McChrystal, commander of foreign troops, and US ambassador Karl Eikenberry -- gave the president the chance to assess the progress of his new war strategy.
"We are here to help Afghans forge a hard-won peace while realising the extraordinary potential of the Afghan people," the US commander-in-chief said in a rousing speech to US and Nato troops at Bagram Airfield outside Kabul.
"We're going to deny al-Qaeda safe haven. We're going to reverse the Taliban's momentum," said Obama.
He pressed Karzai, returned for a second five-year term in fraud-riddled elections last year, to step up the fight against corruption and the drugs trade, and invited the Afghan leader to visit Washington on May 12.
Karzai has pledged action against corruption, which infects every aspect of life in Afghanistan, as well as good governance and rule of law.
Obama, whose relationship with Karzai has been strained, urged his Afghan counterpart to "continue to make progress" on all fronts.
The visit sent a clear message to Karzai that Obama expects him to act on promises to eradicate graft before visiting Washington but is deeply committed to reversing the Taliban insurgency, Afghan analysts said.
"Obama has set some homework for Karzai, reminding him that the anti-corruption issue must be taken more seriously and that not enough has been done so far," analyst Waheed Mujda told AFP.
The US president has put his personal stamp on what he calls a "war of necessity" in Afghanistan, ordering more than 50,000 extra troops to the country to bring the total foreign deployment to 150,000 by August.
"It was a strong message to President Karzai and his administration that the US cannot remain indifferent to the internal politics in Afghanistan," said Haroun Mir, director of Afghanistan's Centre for Research and Policy Studies.
US president asks troops to defeat Taliban in surprise Kabul visit
Afp, Kabul
US President Barack Obama - L- visits troops in the Dragon dining facility at Bagram Air Base on Sunday. Obama thanked the Afghan people and US troops for their sacrifices in the war in Afghanistan, and vowed to reverse the Taliban's momentum. PHOTO: AFP Photo: AFP
US President Barack Obama pressed Afghan leader Hamid Karzai to show progress in cleaning up corruption and rallied troops to defeat the Taliban during a surprise night-time visit to Afghanistan.
Obama flew into Afghanistan under the cover of darkness aboard Air Force One and left before dawn Monday for his first visit to the country since taking office more than a year ago.
The war against the Taliban, now in its ninth year, is claiming record fatalities among the 121,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, where Obama is deploying reinforcements in an effort to bring the long war to an end.
The visit -- which included briefings with US General Stanley McChrystal, commander of foreign troops, and US ambassador Karl Eikenberry -- gave the president the chance to assess the progress of his new war strategy.
"We are here to help Afghans forge a hard-won peace while realising the extraordinary potential of the Afghan people," the US commander-in-chief said in a rousing speech to US and Nato troops at Bagram Airfield outside Kabul.
"We're going to deny al-Qaeda safe haven. We're going to reverse the Taliban's momentum," said Obama.
He pressed Karzai, returned for a second five-year term in fraud-riddled elections last year, to step up the fight against corruption and the drugs trade, and invited the Afghan leader to visit Washington on May 12.
Karzai has pledged action against corruption, which infects every aspect of life in Afghanistan, as well as good governance and rule of law.
Obama, whose relationship with Karzai has been strained, urged his Afghan counterpart to "continue to make progress" on all fronts.
The visit sent a clear message to Karzai that Obama expects him to act on promises to eradicate graft before visiting Washington but is deeply committed to reversing the Taliban insurgency, Afghan analysts said.
"Obama has set some homework for Karzai, reminding him that the anti-corruption issue must be taken more seriously and that not enough has been done so far," analyst Waheed Mujda told AFP.
The US president has put his personal stamp on what he calls a "war of necessity" in Afghanistan, ordering more than 50,000 extra troops to the country to bring the total foreign deployment to 150,000 by August.
"It was a strong message to President Karzai and his administration that the US cannot remain indifferent to the internal politics in Afghanistan," said Haroun Mir, director of Afghanistan's Centre for Research and Policy Studies.
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