October 23, 2017

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made back-to-back, unannounced visits to Afghanistan and Iraq on Monday, flying into both countries under great secrecy out of concern that he might be a target for militants.

As his day looked likely to stretch from before dawn to past midnight, covering almost 4,000 miles, Tillerson and his aides donned flak vests and helmets in Baghdad before boarding helicopters that took them to the U.S. Embassy and elsewhere in the Green Zone to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and President Fouad Massoum.

Tillerson’s visit to Afghanistan was conducted in even greater secrecy and was announced only after he had left the country. Though he never left Bagram air base, north of Kabul, his short visit showcased U.S. support for the Afghan government after a week of Taliban attacks that killed more than 200 people.

Read more:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/us-sec-tillerson-makes-secret-visit-to-kabul/2017/10/23/ae082006-b7f0-11e7-99c6-46bdf7f6f8ba_story.html?utm_term=.c8c9c1937c37