Vice President Mike Pence made a trip to Kabul on Thursday for an unannounced visit with U.S. troops, as well as for a meeting with Afghan leaders to discuss President Donald Trump’s strategy for the war there.
The vice president’s journey was mostly kept in secret, with only a few of his members of staff informed about the preparations. Pence traveled in a nondescript military aircraft instead of a traditionally labeled Air Force Two. After he arrived at Bagram Airfield near Kabul, Pence was transferred to the Presidential Palace by helicopter.
The vice president met with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and the country’s chief executive, Abdullah Abdullah.
“I hope my presence here is tangible evidence that the leadership of President Trump, our administration and the armed forces that we are here to see this through,” Pence said during the meeting.
Following the meeting, he returned to the airfield where he spoke to several hundred troops on behalf of Trump, who has not yet paid a visit to the combat zone. Pence thanked the troops for serving their country and called them heroes and the “world’s greatest force for good,” The Washington Post reports.
During his address, the vice president also spoke about Trump’s strategy in Afghanistan, which includes sending more troops there and helping the Afghan government defeat the Taliban and terrorist groups in the region.
“Under President Donald Trump, the armed forces of the United States will remain engaged in Afghanistan until we eliminate the terrorist threat to our homeland, to our people, once and for all,” Pence said without pointing out clearly whether the president plans to send more troops to Afghanistan and if so, how much.
He added that Pakistan has long been a “safe haven” for the Taliban, but that those days were over because Pakistan “has much to lose by continuing to harbor criminals.”
Pence’s scheduled visits to Egypt and Israel were canceled, aides say, so that he could be in Washington in case his vote on the tax overhaul package was needed in the Senate. Senior White House officials said that the vice president will most likely travel to the region in mid-January.
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