Kabul , Afghanistan ( CNN ) -- President Barack Obama made an unannounced visit Friday to Afghanistan , where he delivered holiday greetings to U.S. troops stationed there and promised continued full support in the war against Taliban and other extremists . The president , who stayed for almost four hours before heading back to Washington , addressed nearly 3,900 troops at Bagram Airfield . Most of the troops were with the Army 's 101st Airborne Division , though components of all the service branches were represented . `` I wanted to make sure that I could spend a little time this holiday with the finest fighting force the world has ever known , '' he told the enthusiastic audience . `` On behalf of more than 300 million Americans , we are here to say thank you . '' The president praised the troops for what he characterized as recent military gains in the nine-year conflict . Our coalition `` is strong and is growing , '' he said . `` You 're going on the offense ( We 're ) tired of playing defense . '' Obama visited a hospital on the base , where he met with five wounded soldiers and three wounded civilian contractors , reporters traveling with the president said . He awarded five Purple Hearts and met with the surviving members of a platoon that lost six comrades earlier in the week . Obama had originally planned to travel to Kabul to meet with President Hamid Karzai and greet U.S. Embassy staffers , but stayed at Bagram because of poor weather . He did , however , speak to Karzai for 15 minutes via secure videoconference . The president later huddled with National Security Adviser Tom Donilon , Ambassador Karl Eikenberry , and Gen. David Petraeus , the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan . It was unclear whether U.S. concerns with the Karzai government publicized this week by the website WikiLeaks were discussed . Two of the cables paint an unflattering portrait of President Karzai 's half brother , Ahmed Wali Karzai , who has been accused of dealing drugs . Prior to the latest WikiLeaks disclosures , Petraeus met with the Afghan president in an effort to ease tensions . Karzai had told the Washington Post he would like to scale back the U.S. military presence in his nation , and criticized the military presence as `` intrusive '' while calling Special Operations raids a problem . In response , Petraeus told Karzai aides that the president 's view could make his relationship with the United States `` untenable . '' A major U.S. military review of the war in Afghanistan is due this month , a year after Obama ordered additional U.S. troops to the country as part of a strategy that could bring some forces home as soon as July 2011 . Officials have said the goal is to end combat operations in Afghanistan in 2014 . Friday 's trip was Obama 's second to Afghanistan since he became commander-in-chief . He visited Afghanistan in 2008 as a presidential candidate .
NEW : This means the product will ship as received by the manufacturer, sealed, with all advertised components, and with the manufacturer warranty. NEW : ` ` We 're tired of playing defense , '' he says . President awards five Purple Hearts . He speaks via videoconference with Karzai for 15 minutes .