U.S. Secretary Of Defense Hagel In Afghanistan

President Obama And Chuck Hagel. Reuters

Hagel Makes First Afghan Trip As Defense Chief -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Chuck Hagel arrived in Afghanistan on Friday for his first trip abroad as defense secretary, seeking to make his own assessment about America's longest war as it enters its final stretch.

Hagel said he would meet commanders and hold talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, whose recent orders to curtail military activity underscore an often tense relationship with the 66,000 American forces there.

"I need to better understand what's going on," Hagel told reporters as he flew to Kabul on the unannounced visit, adding his goal was to "make my own assessment and listen to our commanders".

Hagel said it was his first trip to Afghanistan since a mid-2008 visit with then-Senator Barack Obama during Obama's campaign for the presidency. Obama, a Democrat, forged a close bond with Hagel, a Republican, and remarked later that summer that the two agreed on almost "every item" of foreign policy.

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