U.S. President George W. Bush made a surprise visit to Afghanistan on Monday, holding talks with President Hamid Karzai and warning of a long struggle ahead to quell insurgent violence. Moving from one war zone to another, Bush flew secretly from Baghdad to Kabul, landing under cover of darkness for talks with Karzai and meetings with U.S. troops spearheading the fight against a resurgent Taliban. The U.S. leader acknowledged the toll on the 70,000 international troops in Afghanistan fighting an insurgency which has grown increasingly violent since the hard-line Taliban regime was ousted in late 2001. "This is going to be a long struggle," Bush told a joint press conference with Karzai at the presidential palace. "Ideological struggles take time."
This year has been the bloodiest yet for foreign forces here since the fall of the Taliban, and General David McKiernan, the top commander, has asked for more than 20,000 extra U.S. soldiers to counter rising violence in the south and east.
Karzai said Afghanistan was grateful for the international help, and that one of the key tasks for the coalition was "enabling Afghanistan to eventually stand on its own feet."
Asked about a possible timetable for a withdrawal of foreign forces, Karzai indicated now was not the time to talk about pulling out. "Afghanistan will not allow the international community leaving before we are fully on our feet, before we are strong enough to defend our country, before we are powerful enough to have a good economy," he said, before ending jokingly, "and before we have taken from President Bush and the next administration billions and billions of more dollars. No way!" he added.
To which Bush replied: "You'd better hurry up in my case."
Bush laughed off an incident in Baghdad when he was nearly hit with an angry Iraqi reporter's pair of shoes. The journalist hurled two shoes at him at a press conference, highlighting lingering hostility toward the man who ordered the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Bush ducked and the first shoe hit the American and Iraqi flags behind him and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The second was off target.
Karzai, in contrast, said Afghanistan was "proud and honored" to have Bush visit.
Bush was due to leave Afghanistan after his visit of several hours, but his next destination was not announced.