Reasons of change

[webfact]

Pence visits Afghanistan, says U.S. will 'see this through'

By Jeff Mason

 

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence poses for photos with troops in a hangar at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan on December 21, 2017. REUTERS/Mandel Ngan/Pool

 

KABUL (Reuters) - Vice President Mike Pence made an unannounced trip to Afghanistan to meet its leaders and underscore U.S. commitment to the country four months after President Donald Trump agreed to an open-ended war against insurgents here.

 

Pence arrived on a military plane at Bagram Airfield under the cover of darkness on Thursday night after leaving Washington on Wednesday night. He then flew by helicopter to Kabul, where he met President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah at the presidential palace.

 

Pence told the leaders he hoped his presence there was tangible evidence that the United States was "here to see this through."

 

In a reversal of his campaign call for a swift withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, Trump in August pledged a stepped-up military campaign against Taliban insurgents and signalled the United States would send more troops to fight in what is the longest war in its history.

 

At the end of August, there were some 11,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan and more have since arrived.

 

Ghani expressed gratitude to the U.S. government and said Afghanistan's partnership with the United States was cemented in sacrifice.

 

Pence told reporters the strategy of increased troops on the ground and greater authorities for military leaders was paying dividends.

 

"The results are really beginning to become evident around the country," he said, adding that Ghani and Abdullah had said "they've begun to see a sea change in the attitudes among the Taliban." Pence said their hope was that "eventually the enemy will tire of losing" and be willing to talk peace.

 

Asked if more troops would be needed, Pence said that would be a decision for Trump in the days ahead.

 

Pence said he pressed the Afghan leaders for political reforms and Ghani assured him that an election commission was developing a framework for parliamentary elections in 2018.

 

Pence had originally planned to travel to Israel and Egypt this week, but he postponed that trip to remain in Washington while Congress passed legislation to overhaul U.S. tax law.

 

The short visit to Afghanistan, originally part of the Middle East trip, was shrouded in secrecy for security reasons. Reporters travelling with the vice president were asked not to reveal his whereabouts until after the delegation arrived back at the air base from Kabul and Pence had addressed U.S. troops.

 

Pence almost did not make it to the presidential palace. The helicopters he and others were flying in came close to turning back to Bagram because of poor visibility, but the pilots were able to find a route in the end, a White House official said.

 

Pence, who coordinated the process that resulted in Trump's new Afghanistan policy, has been one of the main interlocutors between the White House and the Afghan leadership since Trump entered office in January.

 

He repeated his promise of U.S. commitment to the region during remarks to troops at Bagram.

 

"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, our people once and for all," Pence said.

 

Trump's views of the 16-year-long Afghan conflict have shifted since he came to power.

 

As a presidential candidate he called for a swift withdrawal of U.S. forces, which were bogged down through the presidencies of Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Barack Obama after a U.S.-led coalition overthrew the Islamist Taliban government for harbouring al Qaeda militants who plotted the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington.

 

But Trump, while acknowledging the decision went against his instincts, argued in August that a hasty withdrawal would create a vacuum for Islamic State and al Qaeda to fill.

 

He declined to set a timeline for withdrawal or outline benchmarks for the new strategy's success.

 

Echoing Trump's comments when he unveiled the new strategy, Pence had sharp words for neighbouring Pakistan, which he said had provided safe haven to the Taliban and other groups for too long.

 

"Those days are over," Pence said. Pakistan had much to gain from partnering with the United States, and much to lose by harbouring "criminals and terrorists," he said at Bagram.

 

U.S. troops are involved in training Afghan security forces and carrying out counter-terrorism operations, hoping to reverse gains by the Taliban and prod it to negotiate for peace.

 

Some 2,400 U.S. forces have died in Afghanistan since the U.S.-led invasion.

 

(Reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Alistair Bell and Leslie Adler)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-12-22

[ilostmypassword]

Didn't the Trump administration just threaten to cut retaliate against nations that voted to condemn US plan to move embassy to Jerusalem?

[Morch]

1 hour ago, ilostmypassword said:

Didn't the Trump administration just threaten to cut retaliate against nations that voted to condemn US plan to move embassy to Jerusalem?

 

Yes. I don't think any country who's the recipient of a sizeable enough chunk was much impressed, as they are all aware it cuts both ways.

[Scott]

An off-topic post has been removed.  

[MajarTheLion]

3 hours ago, ilostmypassword said:

Didn't the Trump administration just threaten to cut retaliate against nations that voted to condemn US plan to move embassy to Jerusalem?

The topic is Afghanistan. We should either see it through or get out. Do you have an opinion on the actual topic? I'd love to hear about it. There is in fact a thread about Jerusalem if you are so inclined to comment about it. If you like, I'll be happy to post a link to assist you.

[ilostmypassword]

Just now, MajarTheLion said:

The topic is Afghanistan. We should either see it through or get out. Do you have an opinion on the actual topic? I'd love to hear about it. There is in fact a thread about Jerusalem if you are so inclined to comment about it. If you like, I'll be happy to post a link to assist you.

Afghanistan is one of the states that voted to condemn the USA for its decision on Jerusalem. So I'm asking how to reconcile the USA's threats against such nations with Mike Pence's statement. Got it now?

[MajarTheLion]

9 minutes ago, ilostmypassword said:

Afghanistan is one of the states that voted to condemn the USA for its decision on Jerusalem. So I'm asking how to reconcile the USA's threats against such nations with Mike Pence's statement. Got it now?

I'm happy to see you decided to address the topic. As you know, nations can agree on things and disagree on things. There is no need to "reconcile" differences, nor can that always happen.

 

But if you are so anxious that these two things be reconciled, and if our placing our State Department facilities in Jerusalem PER US LAW is such an outrage to Afghanistan, I would encourage them to tell us they no longer need our services. I am fine with us getting the hell out of there. How about you? Haven't we been there long enough?

 

So what, in your opinion, should we do regarding Jerusalem? You seem to have a problem with Donald Trump following the law. You'd prefer he ignore the law? For your convenience, here is a link to the law Bill Clinton signed:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_Embassy_Act

 

How do you  propose we "reconcile" the two issues?

Edited December 22, 2017 by MajarTheLion
misspelling

[ilostmypassword]

1 minute ago, MajarTheLion said:

I'm happy to see you decided to address the topic. As you know, nations can agree on things and disagree on things. There is no need to "reconcile" differences, nor can that always happen.

 

But if you are so anxious that these two things be reconciled, and if our placing our State Department facilities in Jerusalem PER US LAW is such an outrage to Afghanistan, I would encourage them to tell us they no longer need our services. I am fine with us getting the hell out of there. How about you? Haven't we been there long enough?

 

So what, in your opinion, should we do regarding Jerusalem? You seem to have a problem with Donald Trump following the law. You'd prefer he ignore the law? For your convenience, here is a link to the law Bill Clinton signed:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_Embassy_Act

 

How do you  propose we "reconcile" the two issues?

How bizarre. You reproach me for bringing up Jerusalem. I point out to you how it is relevant to Afghanistan. And now you take it in a direction that is completely irrelevant to Afghanistan. But before you did that you endorsed leaving Afghanistan over the issue. I pointed out that Mike Pence's statement is incompatible with that. Why don't you reproach Mike Pence and Trump since presumably Pence is there to convey his views. Trump  drew a line in the sand, and when the Afghans crossed it, he drew another.

[MajarTheLion]

19 minutes ago, ilostmypassword said:

How bizarre. You reproach me for bringing up Jerusalem. I point out to you how it is relevant to Afghanistan. And now you take it in a direction that is completely irrelevant to Afghanistan. But before you did that you endorsed leaving Afghanistan over the issue. I pointed out that Mike Pence's statement is incompatible with that. Why don't you reproach Mike Pence and Trump since presumably Pence is there to convey his views. Trump  drew a line in the sand, and when the Afghans crossed it, he drew another.

Yes, incredibly enough, when someone makes an off-topic post, someone may ask them to connect the dots. I concede to not having the list of countries opposed to putting our state department facilities memorized. Thanks for making the tenuous connection. While

 

However, you need to be corrected. What I endorsed is Afghanistan telling us they no longer need our services there if they're that offended by us putting state department facilities in Jerusalem per US law.

 

If you want to reproach Mike Pence, feel free to do so. I'm pretty sure posters here are permitted to debate aspects of topics they choose. For example, you seem really upset about this Jerusalem thing- enough to essentially derail the actual topic.

[Scott]

Although it is true that a statement about cutting aide to countries per the Embassy issue, it is not the primary focus of this thread.   Please stick to speculation/facts on how the vote may affect the situation in Afghanistan.