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Obama in Afghanistan to sign security pact
Obama aides said the anniversary of bin Laden’s killing is not a focus of the trip. But they do not mind that Obama’s mission will serve as a reminder, six months before Election Day.
More than 1,800 U.S. forces have been killed and 15,700 more have been wounded in Afghanistan.
The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq combined have cost almost US$1.3 trillion. And public support for keeping troops in Afghanistan seems lower than ever.
Obama has gone twice before to Afghanistan as president, most recently in December 2010, and once to Iraq in 2009. All such trips, no matter how carefully planned, carry the weight and the risks of considerable security challenges. Just last month, the Taliban began near-simultaneous assaults on embassies, government buildings and NATO bases in Kabul.
Still, it would have been unusual for Obama to sign the “strategic partnership” agreement without Karzai at his side.
The deal is essential for locking in America’s commitment and Afghan’s sovereignty when the post-war period comes. Negotiations have dragged as Afghan officials have demanded specific assurances, financial and otherwise.
Both sides have scrambled to get a deal before the NATO conference in Chicago later this month. Negotiators seemed to clear the way for Obama and Karzai by finding agreement over the conduct of night raids and authority over detainees.
