Notorious for leaks and chastened by previous security lapses, the White House went to unusual lengths to keep President Donald Trump's Thanksgiving trip to Afghanistan under wraps, devising a cover story for his movements that included posting scripted tweets while he was in the air, administration officials said.

On Thursday, Trump dropped in unannounced on troops at Afghanistan's Bagram military airbase in his first trip to the country and only his second to a war zone during his presidency. He served soldiers a turkey dinner and posed for selfies, before telling reporters that the United States and Taliban hoped to resume peace talks.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the 33-hour roundtrip, which White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said had been weeks in the making, was the administration's success in keeping it secret until shortly before the president left Afghanistan to return home.

Frequently wrong-footed by leaks and Trump's freewheeling use of Twitter, the White House informed only a tight circle of officials about the trip.

On Tuesday, Trump travelled to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida as scheduled, accompanied by the regular caravan of reporters which follows the president on all trips.

When those journalists waited for him to emerge for a Thursday afternoon conference call with the troops, per his official schedule, they learnt that overnight he had flown the 13,400 km (8,331 miles) to Afghanistan to visit them in person.

"It is a dangerous area and he wants to support the troops," Grisham told a small group of correspondents aboard Air Force One on Wednesday evening, explaining why the White House had concealed Trump's true movements.

Only hours before, that second group of reporters had secretly gathered at a parking lot near the Joint Base Andrews outside Washington, a regular departure spot for Trump, from which they were driven in minivans into the complex.

They had been told ahead of time that Trump would be travelling incognito to an undisclosed location.

Once inside the base, all smartphones and any devices that could send a signal were confiscated and not returned until at least two hours after Trump's arrival at Bagram, the largest US base in Afghanistan.

Throughout the 13-hour flight, nobody on board Air Force One had access to their phones, including White House staff, Grisham said. The cabin lights were mostly switched off and window blinds stayed shut.

Last Christmas, en route to a troop visit in Iraq, Air Force One was identified above England by a plane spotter who tweeted a photo of its distinctive turquoise livery, sparking a social media storm. Many speculated then that Trump was on his way to a war zone, pointing to his unusually quiet Twitter account, which had sent dozens of tweets the day before.

This time, Grisham said the White House made arrangements to ensure continuity in the president's Twitter account, which posted happy Thanksgiving tweets as he was in the air, including one thanking the military.

"We just had a nice Thanksgiving dinner," Trump said amid chants of "U-S-A" during his speech at the Bagram base.

"I thought I was going to be doing it someplace else."

Notorious for leaks and chastened by previous security lapses, the White House went to unusual lengths to keep President Donald Trump's Thanksgiving trip to Afghanistan under wraps, devising a cover story for his movements that included posting scripted tweets while he was in the air, administration officials said.

Notorious for leaks and chastened by previous security lapses, the White House went to unusual lengths to keep President Donald Trump's Thanksgiving trip to Afghanistan under wraps, devising a cover story for his movements that included posting scripted tweets while he was in the air, administration officials said. On Thursday, Trump dropped in unannounced on troops at Afghanistan's Bagram military airbase in his first trip to the country and only his second to a war zone during his presidency. He served soldiers a turkey dinner and posed for selfies, before telling reporters that the United States and Taliban hoped to resume peace talks. Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the 33-hour roundtrip, which White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said had been weeks in the making, was the administration's success in keeping it secret until shortly before the president left Afghanistan to return home. Frequently wrong-footed by leaks and Trump's freewheeling use of Twitter, the White House informed only a tight circle of officials about the trip. On Tuesday, Trump travelled to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida as scheduled, accompanied by the regular caravan of reporters which follows the president on all trips. When those journalists waited for him to emerge for a Thursday afternoon conference call with the troops, per his official schedule, they learnt that overnight he had flown the 13,400 km (8,331 miles) to Afghanistan to visit them in person. "It is a dangerous area and he wants to support the troops," Grisham told a small group of correspondents aboard Air Force One on Wednesday evening, explaining why the White House had concealed Trump's true movements. Only hours before, that second group of reporters had secretly gathered at a parking lot near the Joint Base Andrews outside Washington, a regular departure spot for Trump, from which they were driven in minivans into the complex. They had been told ahead of time that Trump would be travelling incognito to an undisclosed location. Once inside the base, all smartphones and any devices that could send a signal were confiscated and not returned until at least two hours after Trump's arrival at Bagram, the largest US base in Afghanistan. Throughout the 13-hour flight, nobody on board Air Force One had access to their phones, including White House staff, Grisham said. The cabin lights were mostly switched off and window blinds stayed shut. Last Christmas, en route to a troop visit in Iraq, Air Force One was identified above England by a plane spotter who tweeted a photo of its distinctive turquoise livery, sparking a social media storm. Many speculated then that Trump was on his way to a war zone, pointing to his unusually quiet Twitter account, which had sent dozens of tweets the day before. This time, Grisham said the White House made arrangements to ensure continuity in the president's Twitter account, which posted happy Thanksgiving tweets as he was in the air, including one thanking the military. "We just had a nice Thanksgiving dinner," Trump said amid chants of "U-S-A" during his speech at the Bagram base. "I thought I was going to be doing it someplace else."

No phones, scripted tweets:  How Trump's Afghanistan trip was kept under wraps

US President Donald Trump made a surprise stopover to Bagram airfield&nbsp;in <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/united-states-welcomes-indias-substantial-assistance-to-afghanistan-state-department-official-263766">Afghanistan </a>to celebrate Thanksgiving holiday with troops and asserted that he was still interested in a "deal" with the Taliban.

"The Taliban wants to make a deal and we're meeting with them and we're saying it has to be a ceasefire," Trump said during his visit.

The US president mingled with soldiers and served turkey saying that "there's nowhere I'd rather celebrate this Thanksgiving than right here with the toughest, strongest, best and bravest warriors on the face of the Earth."

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HAPPY THANKSGIVING! <a href="https://t.co/7SGZnHindW">pic.twitter.com/7SGZnHindW</a>
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1200168067075981313?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2019</a></blockquote>
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"I've just come from serving Thanksgiving dinner to some of you... and we had a good time," he told US troops. "But I hope everyone enjoyed the fantastic meal, it certainly did look good and hopefully everyone can get some well-deserved rest this holiday," the president added.

The US-Taliban talks collapsed in September after Trump said the talks were "dead" even as the Taliban delegation met Chinese and Pakistani officials in the past few months since then.

In Afghanistan on Thursday, Trump said that Afghanistan "will not be decided on the battlefield" and "ultimately there will need to be a political solution" decided by people in the region.&nbsp;

Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani who was present at the gettogether thanked Trump and said the "type of peace that will ensure the gains of the past year and ensure your security and our security."

US troops had entered Afghanistan after the 2001 September attack in New York and Washington to destroy the al-Qaida about 13,000 troops still remain in Afghanistan even as the US president said he will cut down the number of troops in the region.

US President Donald Trump made a surprise stopover to Bagram airfield in Afghanistan to celebrate Thanksgiving holiday with troops and asserted that he was still interested in a "deal" with the Taliban.

US President Donald Trump made a surprise stopover to Bagram airfield in Afghanistan to celebrate Thanksgiving holiday with troops and asserted that he was still interested in a "deal" with the Taliban. "The Taliban wants to make a deal and we're meeting with them and we're saying it has to be a ceasefire," Trump said during his visit. The US president mingled with soldiers and served turkey saying that "there's nowhere I'd rather celebrate this Thanksgiving than right here with the toughest, strongest, best and bravest warriors on the face of the Earth." HAPPY THANKSGIVING! pic.twitter.com/7SGZnHindW — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 28, 2019 × "I've just come from serving Thanksgiving dinner to some of you... and we had a good time," he told US troops. "But I hope everyone enjoyed the fantastic meal, it certainly did look good and hopefully everyone can get some well-deserved rest this holiday," the president added. The US-Taliban talks collapsed in September after Trump said the talks were "dead" even as the Taliban delegation met Chinese and Pakistani officials in the past few months since then. In Afghanistan on Thursday, Trump said that Afghanistan "will not be decided on the battlefield" and "ultimately there will need to be a political solution" decided by people in the region. Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani who was present at the gettogether thanked Trump and said the "type of peace that will ensure the gains of the past year and ensure your security and our security." US troops had entered Afghanistan after the 2001 September attack in New York and Washington to destroy the al-Qaida about 13,000 troops still remain in Afghanistan even as the US president said he will cut down the number of troops in the region.

Taliban wants to make a deal, says Trump in Afghanistan

The Taliban said Friday it was "way too early" to speak of resuming direct talks with Washington, a day after <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/taliban-wants-to-make-a-deal-trump-in-afghanistan-265151">President Donald Trump </a>suggested negotiations to end America's longest war were back on track during a surprise visit to Afghanistan.

"It is way too early to talk about the resumption of talks for now. We will give our official reaction later," the Islamist group's official spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, told AFP in a WhatsApp message.

Trump on Thursday had said the Taliban "wants to make a deal".

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
HAPPY THANKSGIVING! <a href="https://t.co/7SGZnHindW">pic.twitter.com/7SGZnHindW</a>
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1200168067075981313?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2019</a></blockquote>
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"We're meeting with them and we're saying it has to be a ceasefire," he told reporters during his unannounced trip to Bagram Airfield, outside the capital Kabul, to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with the troops.

His statement suggested progress after his shock decision in September to end negotiations with the insurgents just as Washington appeared on the verge of signing a deal with the Taliban that would have seen the US begin pulling troops out of Afghanistan in return for security guarantees.

The deal was expected to pave a way towards direct talks between the Taliban and the government in Kabul.

But Trump described the year-long effort as "dead" and withdrew an invitation to the insurgents to meet in the United States due to the killing of an American soldier.

Both Washington and the Taliban had left the door open for talks to resume, however, with most observers agreeing that a political settlement is the only way to reach a lasting peace in Afghanistan after 18 years of war.

The Taliban said Friday it was "way too early" to speak of resuming direct talks with Washington, a day after President Donald Trump suggested negotiations to end America's longest war were back on track during a surprise visit to Afghanistan.

The Taliban said Friday it was "way too early" to speak of resuming direct talks with Washington, a day after President Donald Trump suggested negotiations to end America's longest war were back on track during a surprise visit to Afghanistan. "It is way too early to talk about the resumption of talks for now. We will give our official reaction later," the Islamist group's official spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, told AFP in a WhatsApp message. Trump on Thursday had said the Taliban "wants to make a deal". HAPPY THANKSGIVING! pic.twitter.com/7SGZnHindW — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 28, 2019 × "We're meeting with them and we're saying it has to be a ceasefire," he told reporters during his unannounced trip to Bagram Airfield, outside the capital Kabul, to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with the troops. His statement suggested progress after his shock decision in September to end negotiations with the insurgents just as Washington appeared on the verge of signing a deal with the Taliban that would have seen the US begin pulling troops out of Afghanistan in return for security guarantees. The deal was expected to pave a way towards direct talks between the Taliban and the government in Kabul. But Trump described the year-long effort as "dead" and withdrew an invitation to the insurgents to meet in the United States due to the killing of an American soldier. Both Washington and the Taliban had left the door open for talks to resume, however, with most observers agreeing that a political settlement is the only way to reach a lasting peace in Afghanistan after 18 years of war.

After Trump’s statement, Taliban say 'way too early' to speak of resuming talks with US

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No phones, scripted tweets: How Trump's Afghanistan trip was kept under wraps

Taliban wants to make a deal, says Trump in Afghanistan

After Trump’s statement, Taliban say 'way too early' to speak of resuming talks with US