Afghanistan: Obama, Honoring the Fallen, Says V.A. Problems Must Be Faced --- WASHINGTON — President Obama, just back from a surprise visit to the troops in Afghanistan, honored America’s fallen warriors in a solemn Memorial Day ceremony on Monday and acknowledged the need to confront the widening scandal at the nation’s veterans hospitals. -- “As we’ve been reminded in recent days, we must do more to keep faith with our veterans and their families to make sure they get the care and benefits and opportunities that they’ve earned and that they deserve,” Mr. Obama said to a military audience gathered under balmy sunshine in an amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery. -- “These Americans have done their duty,” the president said, as the crowd broke out in applause. “They ask nothing more than that our country does ours, now and for decades to come.” -- The embattled secretary of veterans affairs, Eric Shinseki, was among those listening to Mr. Obama. But the president, unlike other officials who spoke before him, did not acknowledge his presence. Last week, Mr. Obama summoned Mr. Shinseki to the Oval Office and threatened to punish anyone found guilty of wrongdoing. -- The president, however, did not say more on Monday about the scandal, in which the hospitals have been accused of doctoring patient records to disguise long waiting times for treatment. Mr. Obama has dispatched his deputy chief of staff, Rob Nabors, to the agency to investigate. --- Having just returned from a 33-hour trip to Afghanistan — one that included a pep rally with American troops at Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, but no meeting with President Hamid Karzai — the president celebrated the end of the 13-year war there. -- “Because of their profound sacrifice and because of the progress they have made, we’re at a pivotal moment: our troops are coming home,” Mr. Obama said, drawing the biggest applause of his speech. “By the end of this year, our war in Afghanistan will finally come to an end.” -- “Yesterday at Bagram and today at Arlington, we pay tribute to the nearly 2,200 American patriots who made the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan,” he said. “We will honor them always.” -- On Wednesday, the president will deliver the commencement address at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Officials said he would lay out a detailed blueprint for American foreign policy in the post-Iraq, post-Afghanistan era. -- On Sunday, speaking to troops in a hangar at Bagram, Mr. Obama said the United States still wanted a long-term security agreement with Afghanistan, a potential sign that he has ruled out withdrawing all American troops after 2014, despite repeated warnings from other administration officials that the United States might do so.