Secretary of State Rex Tillerson makes unannounced trip to Afghanistan

Tillerson met with Ghani to reaffirm the U.S. commitment to winning the war with Taliban.

KABUL — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan on Monday to pledge U.S. support to its government after a week of Taliban attacks that killed more than 200 people.

After arriving from Doha, Qatar, Tillerson met with President Ashraf Ghani to reaffirm the U.S. commitment to helping Afghanistan win its war with the Taliban and achieve peace, according to U.S. and Afghan officials.

“I thought it was very important to stop here in Afghanistan coming to the South Asia region as part of the recently announced policy and strategy that President Trump put forth,” Tillerson said after meeting with Ghani for about an hour. He was referring to a U.S. buildup in Afghanistan that will add about 4,000 troops, for a total of 13,500 in the country.

The visit underscores the strong tone that Tillerson is expected to adopt with Pakistan during his visit with interim Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and other officials on Tuesday.

Earlier this year, Trump threatened Pakistan with sanctions for offering “safe havens” to terrorists near the border with Afghanistan — an allegation that Pakistan officials deny.

At Bagram air base north of Kabul, Tillerson reiterated the importance of Pakistan’s role in reaching peace with the Taliban.

“It is imperative in the end that we are denying safe haven to any terrorist organizations or any extremists to any part of this world,” he said. “This is very much a regional effort . . . It was rolled out in the strategy itself, demanding that others deny safe haven to terrorists anywhere in the region. We are working closely with Pakistan, as well.”

Tillerson said he will discuss with Pakistani leaders “specific requests” by the Trump administration for actions that undermine support for the Taliban and other extremist groups. - Read More

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson makes unannounced trip to Afghanistan