Pence makes an unexpected trip to Afghanistan to visit the troops

Vice President Mike Pence made an unexpected trip to Afghanistan on Thursday to visit US troops and hold a key meeting in Kabul to urge the leaders of Afghanistan to continue the long delayed elections. The trip was secretly covered with journalists traveling with the vice president in a media blackout until the end of his visit.

After landing at Bagram airport around 7.15 pm Local time, Pence traveled by helicopter to Chinook to the presidential palace. Poor visibility and security problems have almost prevented the vice president from entering the presidential complex. White House officials said that Pence was determined to wait to visit with President Ashraf Ghani and the chief executive Abdullah Abdullah, who have an unstable alliance in a government that shares power.

Pence said his presence was a tangible proof of the US commitment to Afghanistan. He later met the pilots who took him to the palace and recognized that it was a difficult arrival.

After their meeting, which lasted less than an hour, Pence returned to Bagram Airfield to speak with US troops and to receive information from General John Nicholson, commander of US forces in Afghanistan and US ambassador to Afghanistan, John Bass.

Speaking to US troops, Pence said his message was that the United States is in Afghanistan to stay.

Pence is the highest official of the Trump administration who has visited the country since President Trump announced nearly four months ago that he would intensify the US military effort. UU. To help break the stall with the Taliban. Since then, some 3,400 US troops have been deployed here bringing the total to more than 14,000 US troops in the field.

US presidents often visit troops deployed abroad during the holidays. White House officials said the decision to send Pence to Trump's place was partly due to the vice president's close relationship with Ghani. In an exclusive interview with CBS News, he said he talks once a month with Ghani.

Pence also directed the interacting process that presented the options to Mr. Trump.

Pence made the long flight from the Andrews joint base in Maryland to the Bagram airbase aboard a C-17 military transport plane, rather than the traditional Boeing aircraft.