Cheney makes surprise visit to Afghanistan

Source: CCTV.com | 02-27-2007 15:19

KABUL, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan on Monday, during which he was expected to meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai on security issues, local media reports said.

Cheney would talk with Karzai about how to fight the possible Taliban spring offensive and other issues, the reports said.

The Taliban said recently that 10,000 Taliban fighters including 2,000 suicide bombers would launch a bloody spring offensive against foreign troops in this country as snow melts and the weather becomes warmer.

However, NATO troops and the U.S.-led coalition forces here said they would defeat any Taliban attacks and deal a heavy blow to the militants.

About 27,000 U.S. troops are now deployed in Afghanistan to hunt down militants and facilitate reconstruction.

Cheney arrived at the U.S. Bagram air force base at around 4:30p.m. (1200 GMT), about 50 km north of Afghan capital Kabul, after his visit to Pakistan in the morning, during which he held talks with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.

Cheney's visit to Pakistan comes amid a fresh spell of western reports that there were new al-Qaida training camps in Pakistan's tribal areas.

A recent report by The New York Times claimed that U.S. President George W. Bush had decided to send an "unusually tough message" to his Pakistani counterpart that the Congress could cut aid to Pakistan unless its forces become more aggressive in hunting down al-Qaida and Taliban elements.

Since joining Washington-led "war on terror" following the Sept.11 attacks on the United States in 2001, Pakistan has sent around 80,000 troops to tribal areas bordering Afghanistan to trace the al-Qaida and Taliban militants who sneaked into Pakistan for shelter after Afghanistan's Taliban regime fell.

The Western world and Afghanistan have repeatedly claimed that the militants fighting in Afghanistan were operating from Pakistani soil and Pakistan has not done enough to fight terrorists.

The Pakistani government has categorically rejected the allegations.

Editor:Du Xiaodan