PRESIDENT BARACK Obama yesterday arrived in Afghanistan on a surprise trip intended to push the government of Hamid Karzai to crack down on corruption and drug trafficking.
Mr Obama’s visit was his first to Afghanistan since assuming the US presidency – although late last year he committed 30,000 more troops to the country, a decision that tied his time in office closely to the war against the Taliban.
The US military says it has so far been successful – albeit more slowly than envisaged – in a push against the Taliban stronghold of Marjah in Helmand province, and is preparing for a push around Kandahar. Amid an emphasis on political “reconciliation” with Taliban militants who give up their arms, Mr Karzai is preparing for a peace conference next month.
Mr Obama’s message on corruption and drug trafficking underlines his administration’s belief that without a change of behaviour from the Afghan government, it will be difficult to reverse the course of the war, in which the Taliban gained momentum in 2009.
Speaking to reporters on the flight to Kabul, James Jones, Mr Obama’s national security adviser, said the president would “engage President Karzai . . . to make him understand that in his second term, there are certain things that have been not paid attention to, almost since day one. That is things like . . . a merit-based system for appointment of key government officials, battling corruption, taking the fight to the narco-traffickers, which fuels . . . a lot of the economic engine for the insurgents,” he said, in comments later echoed by Mr Obama.
The president’s trip comes at a time when the White House is seeking to burnish his image as a leader at home and abroad after his victory last week in the battle to push through healthcare reform, and the securing of an arms control deal with Russia.
Mr Obama arrived yesterday and was met by Gen Stanley McChrystal, the architect of the US’s counter-insurgency strategy in Afghanistan, and Karl Eik-enberry, US ambassador to the country. He travelled to Kabul for a meeting with Mr Karzai. Both were set to be joined later by Mr Obama’s White House staff and the Afghan cabinet. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010)