Obama slips into Afghanistan to voice US resolve

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/as_obama_afghanistan

By JENNIFER LOVEN, AP White House Correspondent
Sunday, March 28, 2010

This article tells about President Obama's surprise and secretive trip to Afghanistan on Sunday. It appears that he "slipped into" Afghanistan for a six-hour stay during the night. The trip was "secretive" because the president left on Air Force One from Camp David, which makes it harder for the press to monitor his activity. All accompanying aides and media representatives were "sworn to secrecy." This was Obama's first visit to Afghanistan, and it came just days after a new message from Osama Bin-Laden, who is supposed to be somewhere near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. While in Kabul, Obama spoke with Afghani president Hamid Karzai and American troops stationed there.It is presumed that Obama wanted to communicate to Karzai that his government needs to do more to fight corruption and terrorism, and to express concern over Karzai's recent visits to Iran, China and Pakistan. When addressing the US troops, Obama emphasized the importance of their work in Afghanistan for keeping America safe. Obama told the troops that, "We did not choose this war," reminding them that Afghanistan was where the 9/11 attacks were planned, and that al-Qaida continued to plot against the US. The article states the visit was probably intended to lift spirits at home as much as those of the troops abroad.

I found that Liberalism seemed to best describe Obama's message and actions in this situation. The things he wished to emphasize to Karzai, to quote directly from the article, were to "demand accountability from Afghan authorities to make good on repeated promises to improve living conditions, rein in corruption and enforce the rule of law to prevent people from joining the insurgency." This seems like Liberal thinking (in terms of political and neo-liberal economic theory), in the sense that Obama assumes that improved material conditions and reduced corruption would deter people from joining the insurgency. As we have discussed, however, many violent extremists don't act out of economic necessity but out of deep-seated beliefs. Obama seems to be trying to spread liberal ideals to Afghanistan in hopes of deterring the insurgent movement.