Pence: U.S committed to Afghanistan

Vice President Mike Pence greets U.S. military officers Thursday in a hangar at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.

KABUL, Afghanistan — Vice President Mike Pence, making an unannounced trip to Afghanistan, reaffirmed his administration’s support for the country’s beleaguered government and starkly warned neighboring Pakistan to stop harboring militant groups that have long undermined the U.S.-led coalition’s mission in the area.

Pence’s brief visit Thursday, during which he met with senior Afghan leaders and spoke to U.S. troops, was not made public until just before he left the country because of security concerns.

Speaking to Afghan officials at the presidential palace in Kabul, the capital, Pence said the United States was committed to standing by the government as it fights the Taliban and tries to bring stability, more than 16 years after the war began.

“We’ve been on a long road together, but President [Donald] Trump made it clear earlier this year that we are with you,” Pence said, adding that “we are here to see this through.”

During the presidential campaign last year, Trump indicated a lack of patience for the Afghan war, America’s longest, and raised doubts that he would continue it if elected.

But he has deepened the nation’s commitment since taking office. The number of airstrikes has nearly tripled under his watch, and thousands more troops are to be added to the U.S. training and advising mission in Afghanistan, whose numbers had stood at about 11,000.