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Bush warns of long struggle on surprise Afghanistan visit
AFP - 2 hours 40 minutes ago
KABUL, (AFP) - - US 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.
Fresh from a secret trip to Baghdad, Bush arrived in the pre-dawn darkness, virtually all lights on his Air Force One airplane turned off as part of the thick shroud of secrecy that also enveloped his stop in Iraq.
After landing, he spoke to US troops at Bagram Air Base near Kabul before going to the capital for talks with Karzai to dispel any concerns of flagging support when he hands the White House keys to Barack Obama on January 20.
The US leader acknowledged the toll on the 70,000 international troops in Afghanistan fighting an insurgency which has grown increasingly violent since the hardline 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."
"Is there difficult days ahead?" he asked.
"Absolutely. But are the conditions a lot better today in Afghanistan than they were in 2001? Unquestionably, undoubtedly they're better."
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 US 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."
"The Afghan people don't want to be a burden on the international community for ever," he added.
Asked about a possible timetable for a withdrawal of foreign forces, Karzai indicated now was not the time to talk about pulling out.
The plan "is to continue our cooperation with the international community until we have defeated terrorism and extremism," he said.
"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 was met at Bagram by McKiernan, and warned that the ramp-up in troop levels would inevitably lead to increased violence.
"You'll see violence tick up," Bush told reporters on Air Force One as he flew in, drawing a comparison with the "surge" that helped bring violence down in Iraq and paved the way for some progress toward political reconciliation.
But "the degree of difficulty in Afghanistan is high," he cautioned.
"This is a significantly larger country than Iraq and significantly poorer. The infrastructure is difficult. Nevertheless, the mission is essential."
Bush laughed off an incident in Baghad 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 Nuri al-Maliki. The second was off target.
Soles of shoes are considered the ultimate insult in Arab culture. "It is the farewell kiss, you dog" the journalist shouted before he was wrestled to the ground.
Karzai, in contrast, said Afghanistan was "proud and honoured" to have Bush visit.
He said he had been trying to get Bush to come to Kabul "for a long, long time" and had sent "repeated messages" inviting him.
"I am glad the president is visiting Afghanistan," Karzai said. "I wish he had more time."
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