Obama Visit Stirs Up Afghanistan

Taliban kill 7 in Afghan capital after Obama visit
By AMIR SHAH and CHRIS BLAKE | Associated Press

A French soldier part of the NATO forces walks on debris after the compound was attacked by militants in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, May 2, 2012. A suicide car bomber and Taliban militants disguised in burqas attacked a compound housing hundreds of foreigners in the Afghan capital on Wednesday, officials and witnesses said. The Taliban said the attack was a response to President Barack Obama's surprise visit just hours earlier. (AP Photo/Ahmad Jamshid)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- In President Barack Obama's twin narratives, the United States is both leaving Afghanistan and staying there. The different messages are meant for different audiences, one at home and one away. As Obama's brief, symbolic visit to Afghanistan on Wednesday made clear, the more important audience is American voters fed up with a war that will be in its 12th year on Election Day this fall. The president flew in secret to sign a long-awaited security compact with Afghanistan. It was after midnight in Kabul when the signing took place, and 4 a.m. there when Obama addressed Americans in a specially arranged 7:30 p.m. EDT speech on network television. By the time most Afghans woke up, Obama was gone. "My fellow Americans," Obama said from Bagram Air Field, "we have traveled through more than a decade under the dark cloud of war. Yet here, in the predawn darkness of Afghanistan, we can see the light of a new day on the horizon." The backdrop of armored troop carriers matched Obama's message of praise for U.S. forces who fought and died in Afghanistan, but it was an odd fit for what followed -- a direct appeal to American optimism and self-interest in an election year. "As we emerge from a decade of conflict abroad and economic crisis at home, it is time to renew America," Obama said. The agreement pledges ongoing U.S. support for Afghanistan after 88,000 U.S. combat forces leave. The pact envisions wide-ranging U.S. involvement in Afghan economic and security.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai meet to sign the Strategic Partnership Agreement at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan May 2, 2012. Obama arrived in Afghanistan on Tuesday to conclude an agreement charting future relations with the country, making the unannounced trip in darkness on the first anniversary of the killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. The strategic partnership pact sets out a future U.S. role in Afghanistan, including aid and advisers, while trying to reassure Afghans that they will not be abandoned when most NATO combat troops leave in 2014. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (AFGHANISTAN - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY)
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban struck back less than two hours after President Barack Obama left Afghanistan on Wednesday, targeting a foreigners' housing compound with a suicide car bomb and militants disguised as women in an assault that killed at least seven people.
It was the second major assault in Kabul in less than three weeks and highlighted the Taliban's continued ability to strike in the heavily guarded capital even when security had been tightened for Obama's visit and Wednesday's anniversary of the killing of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in neighboring Pakistan.
Obama arrived at Bagram Air Field late Tuesday, then traveled to Kabul by helicopter for a meeting with President Hamid Karzai in which they signed an agreement governing the U.S. presence after combat troops withdraw in 2014. Later, back at the base, he was surrounded by U.S. troops, shaking every hand. He then gave a speech broadcast to Americans back home, before ending his lightning visit just before 4:30 a.m.
The U.S. president, who is in the midst of a re-election campaign, touted the Navy SEAL raid that killed bin Laden a year ago Wednesday, noting that the operation was launched from a base in Afghanistan.
He also said that "the tide has turned" over the last three years. "We broke the Taliban's momentum. We've built strong Afghan security forces. We devastated al-Qaida's leadership, taking out over 20 of their top 30 leaders," he said.
But the violence that erupted about 90 minutes after his departure was a stark reminder of the difficult task still ahead for Afghan troops as they work to secure their country after U.S. and other foreign troops end their combat mission following nearly a decade at war.
The deal signed with Karzai does not commit the United States to any specific troop presence or spending. But it does allow the U.S. to potentially keep troops in Afghanistan through 2024 for two specific purposes: continued training of Afghan forces and targeted operations against al-Qaida.
The United States also promises to seek money from Congress every year to support Afghanistan. The attack began with a suicide car bomb near the gate of the privately guarded compound, which sits off Jalalabad road — one of the main thoroughfares out of the city, Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqi said.
Kabul Deputy Police Chief Daoud Amin said those killed in the blast included four people in a station wagon that was driving past the area, a passer-by and a Nepalese security guard. He didn't have the identity of the seventh person killed. The Interior Ministry said 17 other people were wounded, many Afghan children on their way to school.
Karzai's office said three Taliban took part in the attack: the suicide car bomber and two other gunmen who stormed the compound disguised in burqas — the head-to-toe robes worn by conservative Afghan women. Explosions and gunfire shook the city for hours as Afghan soldiers rushed to the scene and battled the attackers.
A Western official who had been briefed on the assault said the attackers had breached the perimeter defense, around the compound's parking areas, but had not gotten past a secondary security gate that protects the actual living areas. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.
The area appeared to have calmed down by about 10 a.m. NATO said all the attackers had been killed. The fundamentalist Islamic movement later announced that its annual "spring offensive" would begin Thursday. The offensive comes every year as the snows melt, making both travel and fighting easier as the Taliban try to retake lost territory and intimidate the Afghan government.
Afghanistan already has seen a spike in violence this year.
The compound, which is known as Green Village, houses hundreds of international contractors, diplomats and aid workers in eastern Kabul. It also was the target of anti-foreigner protests following the burning of Qurans at a U.S. base in February. At that time, violent protests raged outside, but the angry crowds did not breach the compound's defenses. The compound's main gate was destroyed, with the wreckage of the suicide bomber's car sitting in front, the road running past it was littered with shoes, books, school supplies and the bloody ID card of a student from a nearby school.
A young man who saw the explosion said the dead pedestrian was one of his fellow classmates. "I was walking to school when I saw a very big explosion. A car exploded and flames went very high into the air," said 21-year-old Mohammad Wali. "Then I saw a body of one of my classmates lying on the street. I knew it was a suicide attack and ran away. I was so afraid."
Karzai's office condemned the attack, calling the perpetrators "the slaves of foreigners who don't want Afghan children to learn." Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack. "This was a message to Obama that those are not real Afghans that are signing documents about this country," Mujahid said. "The real Afghan nation are those people that are not letting foreign invaders stay in this country or disrespect the dignity of our country."
He said the target of Wednesday's attack was a "foreign military base." A spokesman for the alliance, Capt. Justin Brockhoff, said no NATO bases came under attack.
The Green Village complex, with its towering blast walls and heavily armed security force, is very similar in appearance to NATO bases in the city. An Associated Press reporter at the scene saw a group of Afghan soldiers enter the compound, after which heavy shooting could be heard coming from inside.
Elsewhere, NATO said that two coalition service members were killed Wednesday in a bomb blast in the country's east. The alliance did not give the nationality of the troops or provide other details.
The Taliban said that this year's "spring offensive" would be code-named "Al-Farouk," the title of the second Muslim Caliph who lived in the seventh century.
They said the offensive would focus on "all those people who work against the Mujahedeen, toil to pave ground for the occupation of Afghanistan and become the cause for the strength of the invaders."
Associated Press writers Heidi Vogt and Rahim Faiez contributed to this report.
MTW- What a tremendous and thoughtful president we are all lucky to have. He only got seven people killed with this reelection stunt. Hey, Taliban, the American people no longer want to be there. Why did you wait until he left to start the killing? You really could have done us a big favor, but even with free speech, I cannot tell you what that favor may have been. All that I can say is, that this man brings out the peace and love wherever he goes, with a body count. Nobama-Nobiden in 2012!
GODBLESS YOU ALL.
Posted by Michael T. Wayne- A Little Crazy