Page 2 - AT

A2 UP FRONT
Friday 29 November 2019
Continued from Front a cease-fire, but now they
About 12,000 U.S. forces re- do want to do a cease-fire,
main in Afghanistan. I believe ... and we'll see
Traveling with Republican what happens."
Sen. John Barrasso of Wyo- The trip came after Trump
ming and a small clutch of abruptly broke off peace
aides, including his acting talks with the Taliban in
chief of staff, press secre- September, canceling a
tary and national security secret meeting with Taliban
adviser, Trump appeared and Afghan leaders at the
in good spirits as he was Camp David presidential
escorted around the base retreat after a particularly
by heavily armed soldiers, deadly spate of violence,
as the smell of burning capped by a bombing in
fuel and garbage wafted Kabul that killed 12 people,
through the chilly air. Unlike including an American sol-
last year's post-Christmas dier.
visit to Iraq, first lady Mela- That ended a nearly year-
nia Trump did not make the long effort by the U.S. to
trip. reach a political settlement
Trump's first stop was a din- with the Taliban, the group
ing hall, where he plated that protected al-Qaida
turkey and sat down for a extremists in Afghanistan,
meal. But he said he only prompting U.S. military ac- President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani during a
tasted the mashed pota- tion after the Sept. 11, 2001, surprise Thanksgiving Day visit, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2019, at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan.
toes before he was pulled terrorist attacks. U.S. and Associated Press
away for photos. international forces have
"I never got the turkey," been on the ground ever publican allies in Washing- the Americans who have president's silence.
he told the troops. "A gor- since. ton and many U.S. allies made the "ultimate sac- A small group of reporters
geous piece of turkey." It was not immediately abroad. For months now, rifice" in Afghanistan and was told to meet Wednes-
During his visit, Trump said clear how long or substan- he has described Ameri- assured the president that day night on the top floor of
the U.S. and Taliban have tive the U.S. reengagement can forces as "policemen" Afghan security forces are a parking garage and was
been engaged in peace with the Taliban has been. and argued that other increasingly leading the transported in black vans
talks and insisted the Tal- Trump ran his 2016 cam- countries' wars should be fight. to Andrews Air Force Base.
iban want to make a deal paign promising to end the theirs to wage. "In the next three months, Meanwhile, the president
after heavy U.S. fire in re- nation's "endless wars" and Tens of thousands of Af- it's going to be all Afghani- was secretly flying back
cent months. has been pushing to with- ghan civilians and more stan!" Ghani said. from Florida, where report-
"We're meeting with them," draw troops from Afghani- than 2,400 American ser- Ghani also praised Trump ers had been told he'd be
he said. "And we're saying stan and in the Middle East vice members have been for the October mission spending Thanksgiving at
it has to be a cease-fire. despite protests from top killed since the war began that killed Islamic State his Mar-a-Lago club.
And they don't want to do U.S. officials, Trump's Re- 18 years ago. leader Abu Bakr al-Bagh- The plane he'd flown to
Just last week, Trump flew dadi. The Afghan leader Florida — the modified 747
to Dover Air Force Base in also seemed to suggest, painted in the iconic white
Delaware to oversee the as Trump himself has, that and blue of Air Force One
transfer of the remains of the al-Baghdadi mission — remained parked on
two Army officers killed was even more significant the tarmac at West Palm
when their helicopter than the 2011 mission tar- Beach Airport to avoid
crashed as they provided geting al-Qaida founder revealing the president's
security for troops on the Osama bin Laden. The bin movement. About 9:45
ground in Logar province Laden mission was ordered p.m. Wednesday, the presi-
in eastern Afghanistan. The by then-President Barack dent boarded a nearly
Taliban still controls or holds Obama. identical plane concealed
sway over about half of the "President Trump, people in a hangar at Andrews Air
country, staging near daily talk a lot about bin Lad- Force Base, taking off and
attacks targeting Afghan en. But what you did to landing under the cover of
forces and government of- eliminate al-Baghdadi ..." darkness, with cabin lights
ficials. said Ghani, in remarks be- dimmed and window shut-
The U.S. and Taliban had fore U.S. troops ahead of ters drawn.
been close to an agree- Trump's departure. White House press secretary
ment in September that The White House took pains Stephanie Grisham said
might have enabled a U.S. to keep the trip a secret plans for the visit had been
troop withdrawal. after Trump's cover was in the works for weeks.
Trump said he was pro- blown last year when Air "It's a dangerous area and
ceeding with a plan to re- Force One was spotted en he wants to support the
duce U.S. troop levels to route to Iraq by an ama- troops," Grisham told re-
about 8,600, telling report- teur British flight watcher. porters before Trump land-
ers we're "bringing down Cellphones and other trans- ed. "He and Mrs. Trump rec-
the number of troops sub- mitting devices were con- ognize that there's a lot of
stantially." fiscated for the duration of people who are away from
Still, he said, the U.S. will the trip from everyone trav- their families during the hol-
stay in the country "until we eling aboard Air Force One. idays, and we thought it'd
have a deal or we have to- And Thanksgiving-themed be a nice surprise."
tal victory." tweets were teed up to Shortly after midnight,
Trump also met briefly publish ahead of time from Trump and his entou-
with Ghani, the Afghan Trump's account to prevent rage departed from
president. Ghani thanked suspicions arising about the Afghanistan.q