Obama rallies troops in Kabul
Source: Agencies |
March 30, 2010, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
UNDER elaborate secrecy, United States President Barack Obama slipped into Afghanistan near the front lines of the increasingly bloody eight-year-old war and affirmed America's commitment to destroying al-Qaida and its extremist allies in the land where the 9-11 plot was hatched.
Obama's six-hour visit on Sunday was entirely under nightfall, after Air Force One's unannounced flight from the US. The president defended his decision to escalate the fight, telling troops whose numbers he is tripling that their victory is imperative to America's safety.
His bid to shore up faith in the struggle was aimed both at the troops who cheered him and Americans back home. He also demanded accountability from Afghan authorities to make good on repeated promises to improve living conditions, rein in corruption and enforce the rule of law to prevent people from joining the insurgency.
"Your services are absolutely necessary, absolutely essential to America's safety and security," the president told about 2,500 troops and civilians at Bagram Air Field north of Kabul. "Those folks back home are relying on you. We can't forget why we're here."
The Taliban said yesterday that three rockets were fired at Bagram Air Field, but a NATO spokesman in Kabul said one round of mortar fire hit the base but there was no damage and Obama was not there at the time.
It was Obama's first trip as president to Afghanistan, where the number of US troops killed has roughly doubled in the first three months of 2010 compared with the same period last year as Washington has added tens of thousands of additional soldiers to reverse the Taliban's momentum.
"We did not choose this war," Obama said, recalling the September 2001 attacks and warning that al-Qaida was still using the region to plan terrorist strikes against the US and allies. "We are going to disrupt and dismantle, defeat and destroy al-Qaida and its extremist allies."
Obama arrived in Kabul just two days after a threatening new audio message from al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, believed to be in hiding.
"If the Taliban retakes this country," Obama told the troops, "al-Qaida can operate with impunity, then more American lives will be at stake, the Afghan people will lose their opportunity for progress and prosperity and the world will be significantly less secure. As... your commander-in-chief, I'm not going to let that happen."
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
