Obama Reiterates Foreign Policy on Fact-Finding Tour in Afghanistan

The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama met U.S. troops in Afghanistan Saturday during a visit to assess efforts against extremist militants, at the start of a major international tour, the Associated Press reports.

Obama and other senators were briefed by U.S. military commanders at the main U.S. base at Bagram, north of Kabul, on the international effort against Taliban and other Islamic extremists.

The delegation later flew to a base in eastern Afghanistan, which is closer to the border with Pakistan, where they met more of the 36,000 U.S. soldiers stationed in Afghanistan.

The Afghan government said that Obama was due to hold talks with President Hamid Karzai on Sunday.

Obama told reporters before leaving the United States that he was looking forward during his trip, which will also take him to Iraq, to seeing the situation on the ground.

"I want to, obviously, talk to the commanders and get a sense, both in Afghanistan and in Baghdad of, you know, what . . . their biggest concerns are. And I want to thank our troops for the heroic work that they've been doing."

The senator has stated that if he wins the November elections, he would commit at least two more combat brigades, up to 10,000 men, to Afghanistan while downscaling the size of the force in Iraq.

Obama told the New York Times on Monday, "We need more troops, more helicopters, better intelligence-gathering and more non-military assistance to accomplish the mission there."

"Iraq is not the central front in the war on terrorism, and it never has been."

He added, "We cannot tolerate a terrorist sanctuary, and as president I won't."

Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, criticized Obama in a radio address on Saturday for announcing his strategy for Afghanistan and Iraq before his fact-finding tour.

McCain said, "Apparently, he's confident enough that he won't find any facts that might change his opinion or alter his strategy -- remarkable," McCain said.