thedrifter
12-15-08, 07:23 AM
Bush makes surprise visit to troops in Afghanistan
By JENNIFER LOVEN
The Associated Press
BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan — President George W. Bush got a look Monday at the deteriorating situation in the seven-year-old Afghanistan war, amid preparations in his administration to hand a broad strategy overhaul over to President-elect Barack Obama and to significantly increase the U.S. troop presence.
Bush spoke to U.S. soldiers and Marines stationed in Afghanistan at a hangar on the tarmac at Bagram Air Base.
The rally for over 1,000 military personnel took place in the dark, cold predawn hours — it was about 5:30 a.m. local time when the president strode into the hangar to loud cheers.
"Afghanistan is a dramatically different country than it was eight years ago," he said. "We are making hopeful gains."
Bush was scheduled to meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai today.
Bush’s surprise stop in Afghanistan, his first in over 2 1/2 years and only the second of his presidency, was accompanied by extraordinary security.
It came directly after a visit to Iraq that tried the nerves of Bush’s Secret Service protectors when an Iraqi reporter threw his shoes at the president.
The brief tour was a whirlwind trip through two war zones as Bush’s presidency winds down. He hands the Oval Office to Obama in 36 days.
American troops have been in Afghanistan since 2001, when the 9-11 attacks led the United States to invade with an international coalition and oust the hard-line Taliban regime that had supported al Qaeda.
Bush’s visit comes at a time when military violence is at its highest level since the invasion, with a growing U.S. and allied death toll, and when the political situation for Karzai, Afghanistan’s fragile and weak U.S.-backed leader, is increasingly complicated.
Since September, the Bush administration has been conducting a wide review of its war strategy in Afghanistan, a road map that is expected to recommend that further expanding the Afghan army is the best path to success and a U.S. withdrawal.
The Bush White House intends the strategy overhaul not as something it would implement, but as a guide for the incoming Obama administration.
Obama has called Afghanistan an "urgent crisis," saying it’s time to heed the call from U.S. commanders there for significantly more U.S. troops.
Ellie
By JENNIFER LOVEN
The Associated Press
BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan — President George W. Bush got a look Monday at the deteriorating situation in the seven-year-old Afghanistan war, amid preparations in his administration to hand a broad strategy overhaul over to President-elect Barack Obama and to significantly increase the U.S. troop presence.
Bush spoke to U.S. soldiers and Marines stationed in Afghanistan at a hangar on the tarmac at Bagram Air Base.
The rally for over 1,000 military personnel took place in the dark, cold predawn hours — it was about 5:30 a.m. local time when the president strode into the hangar to loud cheers.
"Afghanistan is a dramatically different country than it was eight years ago," he said. "We are making hopeful gains."
Bush was scheduled to meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai today.
Bush’s surprise stop in Afghanistan, his first in over 2 1/2 years and only the second of his presidency, was accompanied by extraordinary security.
It came directly after a visit to Iraq that tried the nerves of Bush’s Secret Service protectors when an Iraqi reporter threw his shoes at the president.
The brief tour was a whirlwind trip through two war zones as Bush’s presidency winds down. He hands the Oval Office to Obama in 36 days.
American troops have been in Afghanistan since 2001, when the 9-11 attacks led the United States to invade with an international coalition and oust the hard-line Taliban regime that had supported al Qaeda.
Bush’s visit comes at a time when military violence is at its highest level since the invasion, with a growing U.S. and allied death toll, and when the political situation for Karzai, Afghanistan’s fragile and weak U.S.-backed leader, is increasingly complicated.
Since September, the Bush administration has been conducting a wide review of its war strategy in Afghanistan, a road map that is expected to recommend that further expanding the Afghan army is the best path to success and a U.S. withdrawal.
The Bush White House intends the strategy overhaul not as something it would implement, but as a guide for the incoming Obama administration.
Obama has called Afghanistan an "urgent crisis," saying it’s time to heed the call from U.S. commanders there for significantly more U.S. troops.
Ellie