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Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama arrived in Afghanistan early Saturday morning, according to the Illinois senator’s campaign. Spokesman Robert Gibbs said in a statement that Obama had landed in Kabul. Previously, the senator, who is traveling with colleagues Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), had visited troops in Kuwait. The presumptive Democratic nominee had been traveling for most of the day to reach his destination. He was joined by one member of his staff, his Secret Service detail and two reporters. Prior to departing from Washington, D.C., according to the pool report of one of the reporters accompanying him, Obama said he is “looking forward to seeing what the situation on the ground is.” The senator will also travel to Iraq, Israel and Europe. He added that he wants to “talk to the commanders and get a sense, both in Afghanistan and in Baghdad of what their biggest concerns are. And I want to thank our troops for the heroic work that they’ve been doing.” Obama has been criticized by rival Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and other Republicans for not having visited Afghanistan before and for not having been to Iraq in two and a half years. The GOP standard-bearer has recently attacked his Democratic rival for laying out his plans for Iraq and Afghanistan without first finding out more about what the situation on the ground is. Asked prior to his departure whether he would repeat recent criticisms of the Iraqi and Afghan leadership when speaking to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Obama said he is “more interested in listening than doing a lot of talking.” “I think it is very important to recognize that I’m going over there as a U.S. senator,” he added. “We have one president at a time, so it’s the president’s job to deliver those messages.” |
