The Taliban mocked US President Barack Obama Wednesday for visiting Afghanistan like a “thief” in the night, saying the world leader was too frightened to arrive during the day because of the threat from insurgents. Obama Sunday made his first visit to Kabul since taking office nearly 15 months ago, arriving and leaving under the cover of darkness. Obama landed in the main US air base in Bagram, north of Kabul, and was flown by helicopter to the capital, landing in the heavily fortified presidential palace to meet his counterpart, Hamid Karzai. After a one-to-one meeting with Karzai, lasting only 25 minutes, and a brief handshake with Karzai's cabinet, Obama was flown to Bagram where he spoke to US troops, ending the whirlwind six-hour trip. “By making a six-hour unannounced trip to Afghanistan ..., Obama proved that his military strategy and surge of 30,000 troops, his morale-boosting propaganda, have all failed to make a dent,” the Taliban said in a statement on their website. “The mujahideen have driven the enemy further into the corner, to the extent that he (Obama) is now not able to visit Afghanistan in daylight. He comes during the night and hurries back in darkness, ironically acting like a thief.”
