KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Under intense security and the cover of night, President Barack Obama slipped into Afghanistan on Tuesday to sign an agreement cementing a U.S. commitment to the nation after the long and unpopular war comes to an end.
Obama was to be on the ground for about seven hours in Afghanistan, where the United States has been engaged in war for more than a decade following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The trip carries major symbolic significance for a president seeking a second term and allows him to showcase what the White House considers the fruit of Obama’s refocused war effort: the killing a year ago of 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden.
Air Force One touched down late at night local time at Bagram Air Field, the main U.S. base here.
Media traveling with Obama on the 13-hour flight had to agree to keep it secret until Obama had safely finished a helicopter flight to the nation’s capital, Kabul, where Taliban insurgents still launch lethal attacks.
Obama is joining Afghan President Hamid Karzai to sign the agreement that will broadly govern the U.S. role in Afghanistan after the American combat mission stops at the end of 2014 — 13 years after it began.
More here:
President Obama will address the nation live from Bagram Air Base tonight at 7:30 p.m. EDT.
Obama’s Afghanistan Speech Well-Received By Afghans Who Want An Enduring American Presence
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/02/obama-afghanistan-speech_n_1470671.html
KABUL, Afghanistan — By 4 a.m. on Wednesday, the helicopters that had spent much of the night hovering low over the homes in the international part of town had moved elsewhere, their sound replaced by the sleepy, early-morning call to prayer.
At that moment, several miles away at Bagram Air Base, President Barack Obama — who had secretly flown into town just hours before — was delivering a speech hailing the finalization of a strategic agreement with Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai, and the start of what he called an “enduring partnership” between the two nations.
It was a speech — billed as “an address to the nation” — that was clearly directed at the war-weary American audience watching it in primetime. Its most prominent message was that of a war in its final phases, winding down “at a steady pace.”
“Today, I signed a historic agreement between the United States and Afghanistan that defines a new kind of relationship between our countries,” Obama said. The path ahead, he said, would be “a future in which war ends, and a new chapter begins.”
His speech offered “a message of reassurance for the Afghan people,” said Farooq Bashar, an Afghan law professor and political analyst. “The Americans created a nightmare for us when they said that after 2014 they were leaving Afghanistan. In coming here, Obama assured the Afghans that they will remain in the region.”
Obama tells of lonely bin Laden decision
http://www.news24.com/World/News/Obama-tells-of-lonely-bin-Laden-decision-20120502
Washington – US President Barack Obama described the lonely decision he made to mount a Navy SEAL raid to kill Osama bin Laden and called the daring escapade the “most important single day” of his tenure.
In an interview to be broadcast later on Wednesday, Obama talked about the nerve jangling moments he endured as he watched the operation, the cloak of secrecy that enveloped it and the moment he saw a photo of the dead al-Qaeda leader.
“I did choose the risk,” Obama told NBC News anchor Brian Williams, in the latest episode of a nearly week-long commemoration of the anniversary of the bin Laden killing.
excerpt
“I want to make sure that the decision I’ve made has not resulted in them putting their lives at risk in vain, and if I got that part of it right, if I could look myself in the mirror and say as commander in chief I made a good call.”
After the SEAL team flew back to a base in Afghanistan, they transmitted photos of the dead al-Qaeda leader, clearly showing he had been shot in the head during the raid.
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Thanks for these clips, SG2. I’m looking forward to the full hour with Wiliams & PBO.
You’re very welcome. My pleasure! I can’t wait to hear this interview.
You do AMERICA PROUD, Mr. President! Thank you.
In a televised address from Afghanistan, President Obama vowed to continue drawing down U.S. troop levels, committing to pull 23,000 out by the end of the summer and sticking to a 2014 deadline to turn security fully over to the Afghan government.
Obama earlier thanked U.S. troops for their service and signed an agreement on cooperating with Afghanistan. His surprise trip to Afghanistan comes on the first anniversary of the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden in neighboring Pakistan.
President Obama: This plan completes our mission & ends the war in Afghanistan as fast as we safely & responsibly can. May God bless our troops and the USA!
TURN OFF THE TEE VEE, AND DON’T LISTEN TO CABLE, ESPECIALLY MARK “DICKIE” BOY HALPERIN. Good Gawd; Chuckie T’s yapping his gap. PBO’s WAYYYYYY WAY TOO MUCH FOR’EM !
President Obama: “This time of war began in Afghanistan, and this is where it will end.”
POTUS made me tear up listening to him speak with the troops.
Me too.
President Obama: “There are those who will ask why we need a firm timeline. The answer is clear: our goal is not to build a country in America’s image.”
We can’t build nor would we want to build another country in our image, especially as UGLY as some of our elected officials are behaving.
Amen!
President Obama: “I will not keep Americans in harm’s way a single day longer than is absolutely required for our national security”
President Obama: “We must give Afghanistan the opportunity to stabilize. Otherwise, our gains could be lost.”
President Obama: “One year ago, from a base here in Afghanistan, our troops launched the operation that killed Osama bin Laden”
President Obama: We will not build permanent bases in this country
President Obama: Tonight I’ll say how we can complete our mission and end the war in Afghanistan,”
Make the case for Afghanistan to the American people, Mr. President. YEP, OBL is outta here.
PBO is speaking now from Bagram Air base
We gots to remain in Afghanistan a while longer… *sigh*
Can watach PBO speak on C-SPAN:
http://www.c-span.org/Live-Video/C-SPAN/
Obama: Afghan war not over but light on horizon
(Reuters) – President Barack Obama on Wednesday warned U.S. troops of further hardship ahead in Afghanistan but told them “there is a light on the horizon” after more than a decade of war.
“The battle is not yet over,” he told a cheering crowd at Bagram airbase outside of Kabul during a visit to Afghanistan. “There is going to be heartbreak and pain and difficulty ahead. But there is a light on the horizon because of the sacrifices you’ve made.”
http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/05/01/afghanistan-obama-troops-idINDEE8400H420120501?feedType=RSS&feedName=southAsiaNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FINsouthAsiaNews+(News+%2F+IN+%2F+South+Asia+News)
This gives me goosebumps! I love my President so much!
Afghan President Hamid Karzai (R) and US President Barack Obama arrive to sign a strategic partnership agreement on May 1, 2012 at the Presidential Palace in Kabul. The agreement provides US military and financial support to Afghanistan for 10 years after the 2014 scheduled troop withdraw. AFP PHOTO/Mandel NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GettyImages)
Afghan President Hamid Karzai (R) and US President Barack Obama arrive to sign a strategic partnership agreement on May 1, 2012 at the Presidential Palace in Kabul. The agreement provides US military and financial support to Afghanistan for 10 years after the 2014 scheduled troop withdraw. AFP PHOTO/Mandel NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GettyImages)
BEST.PRESIDENT.EVER!
This is MY President!!!!
Hee hee hee; Hi VL. MY PRESIDENT IS COOL. Loved his speech to the the troops too. The GOP’s heads are EXPLODING. BWA HA HA HA
President Barack Obama and Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement that outlines cooperation between their countries after the withdrawal of U.S.-led international forces in 2014.
An earlier e-mail alert incorrectly labeled the accord. The new Strategic Partnership Agreement includes the potential for a Status of Forces Agreement to be negotiated later.
Obama will speak to the American people in a live televised address from Afghanistan tonight at 7:30 ET. Watch it live on CNN TV, CNN.com Live and CNN’s mobile apps.
HEY NOW!
..Rock it on out, baby!
Rmember this photo? Apparently GWB advertised his big stick, but didn’t swang it hard enough to catch OSAMA BIN LADEN.
Take note, Mitt Romney! You’re no match for our badass President.
Mission Accomplished! My President lands in Afghanistan spreading peace. “This Is How We Do It”, Mitt Romney!
LOL
U.S. President Barack Obama shakes hands with U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker upon his arrival at Bagram Air Base in Kabul, Afghanistan May 1, 2012. Obama arrived in Afghanistan on Tuesday to sign an agreement charting future relations with the country, making the secret trip on the first anniversary of the killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.Obama plans to deliver a televised address to Americans later on Tuesday. At left is Lt. Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti.
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (AFGHANISTAN – Tags: POLITICS)
… Meanwhile the Patrioticky whiners continue to bemoan the accomplishments of our PRESIDENT.
U.S. President Barack Obama shakes hands with U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker upon his arrival at Bagram Air Base in Kabul, Afghanistan May 1, 2012. Obama arrived in Afghanistan on Tuesday to sign an agreement charting future relations with the country, making the secret trip on the first anniversary of the killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.Obama plans to deliver a televised address to Americans later on Tuesday. At left is Lt. Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti.
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (AFGHANISTAN – Tags: POLITICS)
PBO to Mitt Romeny:
President Barack Obama is greeted by Lt. Gen. Curtis “Mike” Scaparrotti, and U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker as he steps off Air Force One at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan, Tuesday, May 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)