VP Pence delivers message of resolve in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan — Vice President Mike Pence told Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on a secret visit to Afghanistan on Thursday that the U.S. is “here to see this through” as they discussed a newly announced U.S. strategy to break the stalemate in America’s longest war and consulted on upcoming parliamentary elections.

Mr. Pence’s surprise pre-Christmas visit was the first to the war-torn country by either President Donald Trump or the vice president, and it came as the Trump administration charts a pathway for ending the 16-year war in Afghanistan.

“We’re here to see this through,” Mr. Pence told Mr. Ghani and Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah at the presidential palace in Kabul, arriving after a helicopter ride through smoky, dark skies surrounding Afghanistan’s capital.

Later, at a rally-style event at Bagram Air Base, Mr. Pence told hundreds of U.S. troops: “I believe victory is closer than ever before.”

“It’s because of all of you that we’re safe. It’s because of you that we’re free. It’s because of you that freedom has a future in Afghanistan and America and all across the widerworld,” Mr. Pence said, his voice raspy from a cold.

Mr. Pence also received briefings from military leaders, including Gen. John Nicholson, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan.

Mr. Pence spent just under eight hours on the ground before journalists were allowed to report on his whereabouts and activities amid security concerns.

Mr. Pence’s trip was focused on a strategy Mr. Trump announced in August to “fight to win” in Afghanistan by attacking enemies, routing al-Qaida and preventing terrorist attacks against Americans. The president has urged the U.S. to shift away from a “timebased” approach to the protracted conflict by linking U.S. assistance to results and cooperation from the Afghan government, Pakistan and other partners.

The White House has described the new Afghanistan plan as a “regional” strategy that aims to cultivate cooperation among other South Asian nations.

At least 15,000 U.S. forces are in Afghanistan after Mr. Trump sent about 3,800 troops to the country this fall to enhance U.S. efforts to advise Afghan forces and conduct counterterrorism missions. The expected deployment of hundreds more U.S. Army trainers to Afghanistan early next year could increase the total number of American forces there to nearly 16,000, U.S. officials have said.

U.S. sanctions general

The Trump administration on Thursday blacklisted a Myanmar army general who it said oversaw human rights abuses committed by security forces against Rohingya Muslims.

Imposing economic sanctions against the general, Maung Maung Soe, was the toughest action the United States has taken in response to a brutal army offensive that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has described as ethnic cleansing.

Mattis visits Guantanamo

Jim Mattis on Wednesday became the first U.S. defense secretary to visit Guantanamo Bay since Donald Rumsfeld in January 2002, urging troops on the Navy base to set a good example for politically divided Americans and be always ready for war.