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FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Mr Obama's overseas trip to boost his foreign policy credentials saw him having breakfast and sharing his experiences with US troops in Camp Eggers, Kabul, yesterday. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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KABUL - US PRESIDENTIAL candidate Barack Obama is visiting US troops and Afghan officials at the start of an overseas tour aimed at bolstering his foreign policy and national security credentials.
Afghanistan was picked as the opening stop of the first overseas trip for the presumptive Democratic nominee as it plays up the Obama campaign's message that Afghanistan - not Iraq - should be the focus of the US 'war on terror'.
Mr Obama has promised to send more troops to battle insurgents in the violence-torn country if elected.
The Afghanistan trip is also intended to build impressions - and counter criticism - about his ability to serve on the world stage in a time of war.
Recent polls show that most Americans see his rival, Republican John McCain - an older man with a military background - as the more seasoned of the two candidates when it comes to foreign policy issues.
Republicans have attacked Mr Obama, in his 40s and a lawyer by training, as not being up to the task of becoming commander-in-chief of the world's most powerful armed forces.
To dispel this image, he met US troops and military leaders last Saturday, telling them:
'To see young people like this who are doing such excellent work, with so much dedication...it makes you feel good about the country.'
He also flew to Afghanistan's eastern border for a first- hand look at the region where US troops are feeling the brunt of increased attacks from militants infiltrating from Pakistan.
Yesterday, Mr Obama met President Hamid Karzai and discussed various, issues including US-Afghan cooperation to defeat terrorism and Kabul's achievements in recent years, Afghan government spokesman Siamac Herawi said.
But Mr Obama's trip was criticised by Mr McCain. 'In a time of war,' he said in a radio interview last Saturday, 'the commander-in-chief's job doesn't get a learning curve.'
Mr Obama is scheduled to visit Iraq next. He will then travel to Jordan, Israel and three European capitals.
LOS ANGELES TIMES/WASHINGTON POST, ASSOCIATED PRESS, NEW YORK TIMES
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