Senior Republican Sen. John McCain is visiting American troops in Afghanistan to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday.
McCain presided over a reenlistment ceremony for about a half dozen U.S. soldiers in Kabul on Thursday.
McCain, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and unsuccessful presidential candidate, was accompanied on the visit by Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham.
McCain told reporters after the ceremony that even though Afghan President Hamid Karzai has temporarily suspended talks between the U.S. and Afghanistan over what presence the U.S. and other nations will keep in the country after 2014, he was hopeful that it will be "agreed upon as soon as possible."
McCain says "the strategic partnership is very important."