Update II:
Just could not resist sharing this photo, referred to by DOD as “the happy hugger.”
And guess who is being hugged…
A U.S. soldier hugs President Barack Obama following his remarks on Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, May 25, 2014.
Good for you, Mr. President. We need more moments like these.
Update I(The White House):
Following an opening performance by Brad Paisley, the President addressed about 3,000 troops in a hangar on the base.
He let them know that he was there “on a single mission” — and that was to say thank you.
“I thank you as your Commander-in-Chief because you inspire me,” the President said. “Your willingness to serve, to step forward at a time of war, and say ‘send me,’ is the reason the United States stays strong and free. Of all the honors that I have serving as President, nothing matches serving as your Commander-in-Chief.”
Watch video of Obama’s salute to the troops below.
From the New York Times:
President Obama made a surprise trip to Afghanistan on Sunday to visit American troops there, landing at Bagram Airfield outside the capital, Kabul, for the first time since a visit in 2012 when he signed a strategic partnership agreement with the government there to bring the war to an end.
The trip was unannounced, and Mr. Obama slipped out of the White House secretly on Saturday evening in advance of what White House officials said would be a Memorial Day rally with the troops. Officials said the president is also expected to get an on-site briefing from his military commanders and visit wounded service members.
Officials said that Mr. Obama will rally with some of the 32,000 service members who are currently in Afghanistan, many of whom are due to return home at year’s end when the 13-year war is officially brought to an end.
Brad Paisley, a country music singer, traveled on Air Force One with Mr. Obama to Afghansitan and will perform at the rally on Monday. The president is expected to use the appearance there to offer thanks to the members of the military, but is not expected to make any major policy announcements.
Instead, Mr. Obama is expected to wait until he returns to the United States to offer his latest foreign policy and national security vision, during a speech that he is scheduled to give at the West Point graduation on Wednesday.
Read more here.
From American Forces Press Service:
WASHINGTON, May 25, 2014 – President Barack Obama marked Memorial Day with a visit to U.S. leaders and service members at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan.
Obama arrived for the unannounced visit last night and is already on his way back to Washington. It was his fourth trip to Afghanistan since taking office, White House officials said. He last visited the country in 2012.
The president met with U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan James Cunningham and Marine Corps Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the commander of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force. Dunford gave the president a battlefield update. Officials on the trip said the president also discussed U.S. troop levels for the NATO follow-on operation Resolute Support and other post-2014 plans.
The president met with service members and visited wounded troops in the military hospital at Bagram. Brad Paisley, a country singer who accompanied the president, warmed up the crowd for Obama, officials said.
Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, spoke to reporters on the flight over, according to a pool report from Air Force One.
Rhodes said that the administration saw the trip as “an opportunity for the president to thank American troops and civilians for their service.”
There were no meetings scheduled with either Afghan President Hamid Karzai or the two candidates in the run-off elections in Afghanistan, Abdullah Abdullah or Ashraf Ghani. Rhodes said that the White House wanted to make sure the trip focused solely on the troops and not internal Afghan politics.
“We have been looking for some period of time to come to Afghanistan,” Rhodes said. “After the first round of the election, we thought it would be a good time to come for a troop-focused visit.”
Rhodes said the president will provide some additional clarity on his thinking about Afghanistan in the next few days.
Lead Photo: President Barack Obama participates in a rally for American troops at Bagram Airfield in Bagram, Afghanistan. May 25, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
