Obama delivers upbeat message in Afghan visit

In a holiday-season visit, President Barack Obama has told US troops in Afghanistan they are succeeding "in their vital mission fighting terrorism".

But after he flew in secrecy for 14 hours to get there, bad weather kept him from nearby Kabul and a meeting to address frayed relations with Afghan President Hamid Karzai

Mr Obama’s surprise visit to the war zone, his second as president, came 10 days before he is to address the nation about a new review of US strategy to defeat the Taliban and strengthen the Afghan government so American troops can begin leaving next year.

The trip also came at a particularly awkward moment in already strained US relations with Afghanistan because of new and embarrassing leaked cables alleging widespread fraud and underscoring deep American concerns about Mr Karzai.

There was no mention of that as the president spoke to more than 3,500 service members packed into a huge airplane hangar.

After his remarks, he spent more than 10 minutes shaking hands, going around the hangar three times as they grabbed his hand and held cameras and mobile phones high to take photos.

Mr Obama stayed on the US military base, the headquarters of the 101st Airborne Division, the entire time he was there, just under four hours.

He spoke with US General David Petraeus, the top Nato commander in Afghanistan and US Ambassador Karl Eikenberry.

He also visited wounded soldiers at a base hospital, dispensing five Purple Hearts to wounded service members.

“Because of the progress we’re making, we look forward to a new phase next year, the beginning of the transition to Afghan responsibility,” Mr Obama told the troops.

He thanked them for their efforts, noting the difficulty in being away from home during the holidays, and they repeatedly cheered him in return.

He said the US was continuing “to forge a partnership with the Afghan people for the long term”.

And he said, “we will never let this country serve as a safe haven for terrorists who would attack the United States of America again. That will never happen”.

There are now about 150,000 coalition forces in Afghanistan, roughly 100,000 of them Americans.

The US and its Nato partners agreed last month in Lisbon, Portugal, to begin turning over control to local Afghan authorities in 2011, with a goal of completing that transition by the end of 2014.

White House officials said gusty winds and swirling dust led them to cancel Mr Obama’s planned helicopter visit to Kabul, about 30 miles north. A backup plan for a secure videoconference was also scrapped.

Waheed Omar, a Karzai spokesman, said the Afghan leader was “not upset” that the palace visit was scuttled. He noted that the two leaders had met during the conference in Lisbon and discussed the situation in Afghanistan in detail.

Mr Obama, who has tripled US troop strength in Afghanistan, has come under increasing pressure to demonstrate progress in turning the tide against the Taliban insurgency in the battle that has now gone on for more than nine years.

In his remarks to the troops, Mr Obama cited “important progress".

“We said we were going to break the Taliban’s momentum. And that’s what you’re doing. You’re going on the offence, tired of playing defence, targeting their leaders, pushing them out of their strongholds. Today, we can be proud that there are fewer areas under Taliban control and more Afghans have a chance to build a more hopeful future,” he said.

He thanked the troops for their work and sacrifice "on behalf of more than 300 million Americans".

“You give me hope. You give me inspiration. Your resolve shows that Americans will never succumb to fear,” he said to cheers and shouts.

Gen Petraeus, the commander Mr Obama is looking to to turn things around, introduced Mr Obama to the troops and teased the president about the basketball injury to his lip last week.

Presenting him with a 101st Airborne T-shirt, Gen Petraeus told the president: “No one will mess with you if you wear this, Mr President.”

At the base hospital, Mr Obama met with platoon members from the unit that lost six soldiers this week in brazen killings by an Afghan border policeman who turned fire on his US trainers.

Mentioning that visit and his meeting with what Gen Petraeus called “wounded warriors”, Mr Obama told the assembled troops: “I don’t need to tell you this is a tough fight. ... It’s a tough business.

Progress comes slow. And there are going to be difficult days ahead. Progress comes at a high price.”