KABUL, Afghanistan — Senator Barack Obama arrived in Afghanistan on Saturday, opening a high-stakes foreign trip in a country that is increasingly the focus of his clash with Senator John McCain in the presidential campaign over whether the war in Iraq has been a distraction in hunting down terrorists.
Security was tight in Kabul as Mr. Obama arrived in Afghanistan, where he was to meet with local officials and military leaders.
As Mr. Obama set off to meet with American troops and military leaders in eastern Afghanistan, he made no public statements in his first hours on the ground here, the first stop on a weeklong trip that will take him to Iraq, Israel and Western Europe.
But Mr. McCain quickly sought to raise questions about Mr. Obama’s judgment on foreign policy, saying in a radio address on Saturday that his Democratic opponent had been wrong about the increase in troops in Iraq, a strategy Mr. McCain said should be the basis for addressing deteriorating conditions in Afghanistan as well.
Mr. Obama flew to eastern Afghanistan, close to the border with Pakistan, to get a first-hand look at the region where American troops are feeling the brunt of increased attacks from militants infiltrating across the border from Pakistan. In selecting Afghanistan as the opening stop of his first overseas trip as the presumptive Democratic nominee, he was seeking to highlight what he says is its importance as the key front in the fight against terrorism.
The trip is intended to build impressions — and counter criticism — about his ability to serve on the world stage in a time of war. While the trip carries political risk, particularly if Mr. Obama makes a mistake — the three broadcast network news anchors will be along for the latter parts of the trip — or is seen as the preferred candidate of Europe and other parts of the world, his advisers believe it offers a significant opportunity for him to be seen as a leader who can improve America’s image.
“I’m more interested in listening than doing a lot of talking,” Mr. Obama told reporters before leaving Washington for a trip cloaked in secrecy because of security concerns. “And I think it is very important to recognize that I’m going over there as a U.S. senator. We have one president at a time.”
Even as the fragile economy has emerged as the chief issue on the minds of voters in the United States, the presidential race on Saturday unfolded with a foreign policy debate taking place across borders and time zones, a reminder that the nation is at war and that the candidates offer very different backgrounds and approaches when it comes to national security.
Mr. Obama touched down in Kabul just before noon on Saturday, his aides said, after stopping to visit American troops in Kuwait on his trip from Washington. He met with regional leaders in Afghanistan on Saturday and was expected to meet with President Hamid Karzai.
While the Iraq war has been one of the dominant issues in the presidential campaign, Afghanistan has moved to the forefront of the foreign policy plans of both candidates. President Bush’s agreement to a “general time horizon” for withdrawing American troops in Iraq has opened the door to new consideration of strengthening the American and NATO presence in Afghanistan, which Mr. Obama and Mr. McCain both agree on in principle.
For months, Mr. McCain has criticized his rival for failing to visit Afghanistan and taking only one trip to Iraq. Even on Saturday, in a radio address, Mr. McCain renewed his criticism and sought to minimize Mr. Obama’s trip. “In a time of war,” Mr. McCain said, “the commander-in-chief’s job doesn’t get a learning curve.”
But Republicans were carefully watching Mr. Obama’s trip, which is rare in its profile and scope for a presidential candidate. Mr. McCain took a trip with similar itinerary in March, but it received far less attention.
In addition to his visit to Iraq, Mr. Obama is set to meet with a series of leaders as he travels to Iraq, Jordan, Israel and three European capitals, including Berlin, where he is to give a major speech on Thursday. On the Afghanistan and Iraq leg of the trip, he has been joined by Senators Chuck Hagel, Republican of Nebraska, and Jack Reed, Democrat of Rhode Island, both of whom have been mentioned as possible running mates for Mr. Obama.
The three senators, all of whom have been critical of the administration’s policy in Iraq and Afghanistan, flew on Saturday to Jalalabad, one of 13 provincial bases that are commanded by American forces in the Regional Command East of the NATO force in Afghanistan. Many of those provinces, including Kunar, Nuristan, Nangarhar, Khost and Paktika, line the border with Pakistan’s turbulent tribal areas, where militant groups allied with the Taliban and Al Qaeda have gained in strength and have increased attacks by some 40 percent in recent months.
The governor of Nangarhar Province, Gul Agha Shirzai, a former mujahedeen commander who has a brutal past but is favored by the United States as a doer, was the only Afghan official to meet the senators, along with the United States ambassador and generals. Mr. Shirzai, who is thought to have his own aspirations in Afghan presidential elections next year, has been praised for his tough action against poppy cultivation and official corruption in his province.
“Barack Obama thanked the officials of Nangarhar and the people of Nangarhar for eliminating poppy cultivation, fighting corruption, and he promised that the United States would give more help to Afghanistan and especially to Nangarhar,” he said by telephone after the one hour meeting.
The senators flew back to Bagram air base, north of Kabul, at 5 p.m., the governor said. At 6 p.m. two military Chinook helicopters landed at the United States embassy, as two more attack helicopters circled above.
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