Biden makes surprise trip to Afghanistan

Posted By Josh Rogin Monday, January 10, 2011 - 11:40 AM Share

Vice President Joseph Biden is in Kabul right now to meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, in a move that could signal his increased involvement in the issue following last month's unexpected death of Special Representative Richard Holbrooke.

This is Biden's first trip to Afghanistan since becoming vice president. He has taken the lead within the administration in dealing with Iraq, and has been credited with assisting Iraqi leaders with the government formation process and the transfer of responsibility away from departing U.S. military forces there.

"The primary purpose of the trip is to assess progress toward the transition to Afghan-led security beginning this year, and to demonstrate the United States' commitment to a long-term partnership with Afghanistan," the White House said in statement.

Biden's arrived at about 7:30 p.m. Kabul local time and was greeted at the airport by ISAF commander Gen. David Petraeus, U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry, and three Afghan officials. He will meet with U.S. military and civilian personnel and also will tour an Afghan National Army training center.

The trip was kept secret, due to security concerns, but Karzai was made aware of the visit last week.

Biden first met with Petraeus and Eikenberry for about an hour, to get an "update from them on the situation on the ground," a senior administration official said. Biden is scheduled to have lunch with Karzai during his trip and then both sides will hold a larger meeting with officials from both sides in attendance

Biden, a longtime Philadelphia Eagles fan, watched the Eagles-Packers playoff game from the plane, wearing a black Eagles cap. But the game cut off during the 4th quarter, so Biden was fortunate enough to miss quarterback Michael Vick's last-minute interception, which sealed the Eagles' defeat.

Holbrooke's temporary replacement Frank Ruggiero was also in Kabul Monday, following a visit to Pakistan. Ruggiero delivered the message that Holbrooke's SRAP office will remain intact, although Ruggiero himself is not expected to be head of that office permanently, the Washington Post reported.

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MARTY MARTEL

4:53 PM ET

January 10, 2011

Is Washington really listening to Karzai?

The question is ‘Is Washington really listening to Karzai?’.

Afghan President Karzai told a news conference in Kabul on 7/29/2010 after WikiLeaks leaks, “The time has come for our international allies to know that the war against terrorism is not in Afghanistan’s homes and villages. But rather this war is in the sanctuaries, funding centers and training places of terrorism which are in Pakistan. Our international allies have the ability to destroy these Pakistani sanctuaries, but the question is why they are not doing it?“

Even Afghanistan’s national security advisor Rangin Dadfar Spanta has asked a similar question in a Washington Post article on 8/23/2010: “While we are losing dozens of men and women to terrorist attacks every day, the terrorists’ main mentor (Pakistan) continues to receive billions of dollars in aid and assistance. How is this fundamental contradiction justified? Despite facing a growing domestic terror threat, Pakistan “continues to provide sanctuary and support to the Quetta Shura, the Haqqani network, the Hekmatyar group and Al Qaeda. Dismantling the terrorist infrastructure “requires confronting the state of Pakistan that still sees terrorism as a strategic asset and foreign policy tool”.

As long as US military under General Petraeus continues to mollycoddle Kayani’s Pakistan at the expense of Afghanistan, all such US visits are NOT going to save US Afghan mission.