President Obama’s surprise visit to Afghanistan was the product of more than a year of negotiations on an agreement regarding America’s role in the country after 2014 and not the product of presidential politics, a senior administration official assured reporters on Tuesday ahead of Obama’s address to the nation.
Asked by a reporter whether the visit on the anniversary of Osama bin Laden’s death represented “craven politics,” the official said that both US and Afghan officials had long planned on signing an agreement in Afghanistan before a NATO summit in Chicago on May 20, giving them a limited window for the visit. The chosen date of the signing “is certainly a resonant day” for both nations, the official noted, given that bin Laden “brought great suffering” to Afghanistan in addition to plotting the 9/11 attacks from inside the country.
Obama’s address to the American people at 7:30 will focus on outlining a five-point strategy for ending the Afghanistan war, that includes training Afghan forces, putting them into a lead combat role, pursuing negotiations with Taliban who renounce violence and agree to support the current government, working with Pakistan, and outlining ground rules for the US to provide possible assistance — including military forces — beyond a scheduled 2014 withdrawal.
