Obama visits Afghanistan to sign symbolic postwar deal
Talks with Karzai focus on peace past 2014
KABUL — U.S. President Barack Obama landed in Afghanistan under a veil of secrecy and high security to sign a post-2014 partnership deal designed to secure a “future of peace” after the misery of a decade of war.
A year to the day after the killing of Osama bin Laden, the architect of the 9/11 attacks that drew the U.S. into the Afghan quagmire, Obama descended under the cover of darkness for a swift and symbolic visit.
He signed a postwar partnership deal with President Hamid Karzai, told U.S. troops their sacrifice had made a “light on the horizon” ahead and was to make a major televised address to the American people on the progress of the war.
“Neither Americans nor the Afghan people asked for this war, yet for a decade we’ve stood together,” Obama said, signing a 10-page pact pledging U.S. aid to Afghanistan after 2014 when NATO combat troops leave.
“I’m here to affirm the bond between our two countries and to thank Americans and Afghans who have sacrificed so much over these last 10 years,” he said at Karzai’s presidential palace.
“We look forward to a future of peace. Today we’re agreeing to be long-term partners.”
The pact foresees the possibility of American forces staying behind to train Afghan forces and pursue the remnants of al-qaida but does not commit Washington to specific troop or funding levels for Afghanistan.
The deal, reached after months of painstaking negotiations, also states that the U.S. doesn’t seek permanent military bases in Afghanistan and was concluded just over two weeks before a NATO summit in Chicago.
Later, Obama, the commander in chief of American troops, addressed soldiers at Bagram air force base.
“It’s still tough, the battle is not yet over. Some of your buddies are going to get injured, some of your buddies may get killed,” Obama said.
“There is going to be heartbreak and pain and difficulty ahead, but there is a light on the horizon because of the sacrifices you have made.”
The trip underlined the symbolic power of the presidency at a time when Obama is locked in a fierce row with his Republican election foe, Mitt Romney, over claims he is hyping the bin Laden death anniversary for political gain.