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| Obama on first Afghanistan visit | Obama on first Afghanistan visit |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| US President Barack Obama has arrived in Afghanistan on his first visit to the country since taking office. | US President Barack Obama has arrived in Afghanistan on his first visit to the country since taking office. |
| His trip was expected to include meetings with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, as well as his cabinet and US officials, US media reported. | His trip was expected to include meetings with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, as well as his cabinet and US officials, US media reported. |
| He is also expected to address American forces stationed in Afghanistan. | He is also expected to address American forces stationed in Afghanistan. |
| Mr Obama in December ordered the deployment of an extra 30,000 US troops to Afghanistan and set a date of mid-2011 to begin troop withdrawal. | Mr Obama in December ordered the deployment of an extra 30,000 US troops to Afghanistan and set a date of mid-2011 to begin troop withdrawal. |
| Only a few thousand of the extra forces have arrived so far, with most expected to be in place by the summer. | |
| Mr Obama's visit was kept secret for security reasons. Mr Karzai was only told about it one hour before the US president arrived, the AP reports. | Mr Obama's visit was kept secret for security reasons. Mr Karzai was only told about it one hour before the US president arrived, the AP reports. |
| Mr Obama travelled to Afghanistan during his campaign for the 2008 presidential election but this is his first visit to the country since becoming the US commander-in-chief. | Mr Obama travelled to Afghanistan during his campaign for the 2008 presidential election but this is his first visit to the country since becoming the US commander-in-chief. |
| A White House official told Reuters news agency he wanted to get an "on the ground update" about the eight-year-old war from Gen Stanley McChrystal, commander of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan. | |
| There were strained relations between the White House and the Karzai government in 2009 over the disputed Afghan elections. |