Pat Dollard | Young Americans

This, boys and girls, is what’s known as a media stunt…the whole thing, through and through…but of course, because all Hussein is, is a show…

Agencies:

KABUL, Afghanistan - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama pledged steadfast aid to Afghanistan in talks Sunday with its Western-backed leader and vowed to pursue the war on terror “with vigor” if elected, an Afghan official said.

On the second day of an international tour designed to burnish his foreign policy credentials, Illinois Sen. Obama and a pair of colleagues held two hours of talks with President Hamid Karzai at his palace in the capital.

Obama has chided Karzai for not doing more to build confidence in his government, which remains weak after the ouster of the Taliban in 2001.

Asked about Obama’s previous criticism of Karzai’s leadership, a Karzai spokesman said Afghanistan was held back by the need to fight terrorism “imposed” on it from outside—an apparent reference to Pakistan, which Karzai accuses of backing the Taliban.

He made no public comment after the meeting, but said in a written statement that his main purpose was to see U.S troops, thank them for their “extraordinary service” and let them know the United States is proud of them.

Obama said he and his colleagues were talking to military and diplomatic leaders, and Afghanistan’s leaders about whether the U.S. has the right strategy and resources to defeat the Taliban and al-Qaida.

The Afghan presidency said Obama’s message was positive.

“Sen. Obama conveyed … that he is committed to supporting Afghanistan and to continue the war against terrorism with vigor,” said Humayun Hamidzada, Karzai’s spokesman. He said Democrats and Republicans “are friends of Afghanistan and no matter who wins the U.S. elections, Afghanistan will have a very strong partner in the United States.”

In an interview broadcast Sunday in the United States, Obama described the situation here as “precarious” and “urgent,” and said the U.S. should not wait to begin the planning that would be needed to send in more troops. As troops sent to Iraq as part of the buildup of forces there begin to leave, Obama says one to two brigades should be redirected to Afghanistan to bolster the efforts here.

“The situation is precarious and urgent here in Afghanistan and I believe this has to be our central focus, the central front in our battle against terrorists,” Obama told CBS News. “If we wait until the next administration it could be a year before we get those troops on the ground.”

While officially part of a congressional delegation on a fact-finding tour that is expected to take him to Iraq, Obama traveled in Afghanistan amid the security accorded a likely Democratic nominee for president rather than a senator from Illinois.

Media access to him was limited, and his itinerary was closely guarded.

Earlier Sunday, he praised U.S. troops during breakfast with soldiers at Camp Eggers, a heavily fortified military base in the city.

“To see young people like this who are doing such excellent work, with so much dedication … it makes you feel good about the country,” Obama said.