Afghanistan ? Vice President-elect Joe Biden pledged long-term American support for Afghanistan during a visit Saturday, and the commander of NATO-led forces told him that thousands of new American troops expected this year will need more support against surging Taliban violence.

President-elect Barack Obama has promised to end the war in Iraq and refocus American military efforts on Afghanistan. Biden’s visit is a sign that Obama plans to make the region an immediate priority.

In a meeting with President Hamid Karzai, Biden “talked about … the fight against terrorism, American troop increases as well as equipping and supplying of the Afghan forces,” a statement from Karzai’s office said, without providing any details.

Some 32,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan serve alongside another 32,000 other NATO-led and coalition troops, the highest number since the invasion to oust the Taliban from power began in 2001.