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Obama
Visits Afghanistan to
Tour War Zone
 (AP) - Democratic
presidential
contender Barack Obama started a campaign-season tour of combat zones
and foreign capitals, visiting with U.S. forces in Kuwait and then
Afghanistan — the scene of a war he says deserves more
attention and more troops.
The Illinois senator arrived Saturday in Kabul as part of an official
congressional delegation and then flew to eastern Afghanistan. Staff.
Sgt. David Hopkins said Obama and two other senators were making a
brief stop in Jalalabad airfield, in Nangarhar province, to visit with
soldiers stationed there.
The delegation also met with top military leaders and troops at Bagram
Air Base, the main U.S. military base in the country, according to a
U.S. military officer who spoke on condition of anonymity because the
officer was not authorized to release the information.
Obama's first visit to Afghanistan, coming less than four months before
the general election, was rich with political implications. Republican
presidential rival John McCain has criticized Obama for his lack of
time in the region. Obama is also expected to stop later in Iraq.
En route to Afghanistan, Obama stopped Friday at Camp Arifjan, the main
U.S. military base in Kuwait and a major gateway for U.S. soldiers
moving into and out of Iraq.
Lt. Col. Bill Nutter, a spokesman for the U.S. military in Kuwait,
said, "He talked to soldiers and constituents and met with senior
military leadership."
During the two-hour visit, Nutter said, the officers gave him an
overview of operations. Obama shook hands, answered questions, posed
for photos and played a little basketball during the visit.
Sultan Ahmad Baheen, spokesman for Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry, said
Saturday that Obama would meet with President Hamid Karzai during his
visit.
"I look forward to seeing what the situation on the ground is," Obama
told a pair of reporters who accompanied him to his departure from
Andrews Air Force Base on Thursday. "I want to, obviously, talk to the
commanders and get a sense both in Afghanistan and in Baghdad of, you
know, what the most, their biggest concerns are, and I want to thank
our troops for the heroic work that they've been doing."
Underscoring the challenges in Afghanistan, authorities reported
Saturday that a roadside bomb killed four policemen in the volatile
south of the country where the Taliban-led insurgency is intensifying
nearly seven years after a U.S.-led invasion ousted the militant
movement from power.
Obama advocates ending the U.S. combat role in Iraq by withdrawing
troops at the rate of one to two combat brigades a month. But he
supports increasing the military commitment to Afghanistan, where the
Taliban has been resurgent and Osama bin laden is believed to be hiding.
Obama recently chided Karzai and his government, saying it had "not
gotten out of the bunker" and helped to organize the country or its
political and security institutions.
Also on his itinerary later in the trip is a meeting with Nouri
al-Maliki, the Iraqi leader. On the campaign trail, Obama has said one
benefit of withdrawing U.S. troops is that it would pressure al-Maliki
to shore up his government as well.
Nonetheless, he said he did not plan to reiterate those messages in
person.
"I'm more interested in listening than doing a lot of talking, and I
think it's very important to recognize that I'm going over there as a
U.S. senator," he said. "We have one president at a time."
The duration and details of Obama's stay in Afghanistan have not been
formally disclosed, and media access was limited.
Traveling with Obama were Sens. Chuck Hagel, a Nebraska Republican and
Jack Reed, a Democrat from Rhode Island. The senators, both military
veterans, have been mentioned as potential Obama vice presidential
running mates, but Reed has said he's not interested in the job.
In a speech this week, Obama said the war in Iraq was a distraction,
unlike the fighting in Afghanistan.
"This is a war that we have to win," he said. "I will send at least two
additional combat brigades to Afghanistan, and use this commitment to
seek greater contributions — with fewer restrictions
— from NATO allies.
"I will focus on training Afghan security forces and supporting an
Afghan judiciary, with more resources and incentives for American
officers who perform these missions."
By contrast, his opposition to the war in Iraq — and call for
an end to the U.S. combat role — helped him overcome his
rivals in the battle for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Lately, his efforts to explain how he will use what he learns from U.S.
commanders to refine his proposals have brought charges from
Republicans and complaints from Democratic liberals that he seems to be
shifting his Iraq policy toward the political center. But Obama
maintains his basic goal of ending the U.S. combat role soon remains
unchanged and that he's always said the U.S. withdrawal must be done
carefully.
Obama also arranged to visit Jordan, Israel, Germany, France and
England, traveling aboard a jet chartered by his presidential campaign,
before his return to the United States. The weeklong trip marks his
only foreign excursion as a presidential candidate; McCain has visited
Canada, Colombia and Mexico, in part to highlight Obama's opposition to
trade deals with those allies.
Few citizens in impoverished Afghanistan were aware of Obama's
unannounced visit, and few have been following the U.S. presidential
race, being too busy eking out an existence amid soaring violence and
with limited access to news media.
But some interviewed Saturday said they would welcome an Obama
presidency if he could help their country end the fighting, corruption
and poverty that have crippled it for so long.
"Obama is a good person," said Abdul Basir, 40, a former army officer.
"During his campaign I heard he was saying that if I become president I
will withdraw the U.S. troops from Iraq and bring them to Afghanistan
and I will attack on the terror center on other side of border (in
Pakistan). It is very important and I appreciated that."
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