Late last week, White House officials told the public President Barack Obama planned to spend a quiet weekend at Camp David.
Well, SURPRISE!
In cover of darkness, Obama secretly flew into Afghanistan’s Bagram Air Force Base, marking the very first time in his presidency that he has visited the troubled, war-torn nation.
The president flew into Bagram Air Force Base Sunday and warmly greeted some of the tens of thousands US troops currently deployed in the region. In November, Obama announced he was sending 30,000 additional troops into the region to try and stop Taliban insurgencies in the country’s population centers.
“Al Qaeda and their extremist allies are a threat to the people of Afghanistan and a threat to the people of America, but they’re also a threat to people around the world,” Obama told the troops, many excitingly snapping photos of the prez, according to The New York Times. “My main job here today is to say thank you on behalf of the entire American people. You are part of the finest military in the history of the world. And we are proud of you.”
To be sure, the trip wasn’t all pep rally. Obama also took a helicopter to the Afghan capital of Kabul to meet with president Hamid Karzai. Although his private remarks to Karzai were not made public, it’s well-known that the US has concerns about Afghan government corruption, as well as Karzai’s recent chumminess with Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. However, in his public remarks alongside Karzai, Obama reiterated his support of American troops — and sounded more than a bit like a proud papa.
“One of the main reasons I’m here is to just say thank you for the incredible efforts of our troops and our coalition partners,” he said. “They make tremendous sacrifices far away from home, and I want to make sure they know how proud their commander in chief is of them.”
Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Douglas Mappin via Wikimedia Commons.
