Apparently They're Not Fans of Bush

Bush Makes Surprise Visit to Afghanistan

Terence Hunt, Canadian Press
Published: Wednesday, March 01, 2006

KABUL -- President George W. Bush, on an unannounced visit to Afghanistan, vowed Wednesday to stand by this emerging democracy and not ''cut and run'' in the face of rising violence. He also predicted Osama bin Laden would be captured despite a so-far futile five-year hunt.

''I'm confident he will be brought to justice,'' Bush said, standing alongside Afghan President Hamid Karzai outside the presidential palace.

Bush also rallied U.S. troops and expressed solidarity with Karzai's U.S.-backed government in a surprise visit of just over four hours at the onset of his South Asia trip. The U.S. leader was accompanied by his wife Laura, who visited the country on her own in April 2005.

He later flew to New Delhi, India, where tens of thousands of people demonstrated Wednesday against his visit, and was visiting Pakistan later in the week.

Bush pledged that bin Laden, the al-Qaida leader, and other planners of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks would be caught.

''It's not a matter of if they're captured and brought to justice, it's when they're brought to justice,'' Bush said.

Bin Laden is believed to be hiding out somewhere along the mountainous Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

Suspicion that al-Qaida and Taliban militants may be using Pakistan as base for launching strikes in Afghanistan has become a source of tension in relations with Afghanistan.

Bush said that, when he is in Pakistan later this week, he will raise the issue of cross-border infiltration with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.

Karzai greeted Bush as ''our great friend, our great supporter, a man who helped us liberate.''

Bush held a working lunch with Karzai and other Afghan leaders, attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the U.S. embassy in Kabul and spoke to U.S. troops at Bagram Air Base.

''People all over the world are watching the experience here in Afghanistan,'' Bush said, praising Karzai as ''a friend and an ally.''

Karzai took power after U.S.-led forces overthrew the Taliban government. Although in disarray after the invasion, Taliban insurgents and their al-Qaida allies have been increasing attacks within Afghanistan in recent months.

The director of the U.S. Defence Intelligence Agency, Lt.-Gen. Michael Maples, told a congressional hearing in Washington on Tuesday that the insurgency was still growing and posed a greater threat to Karzai's government ''than at any point since late 2001.''

Asked about the search for bin Laden, the mastermind of the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the United States, and of the president's long-ago call for getting him ''dead or alive,'' Bush said the search for bin Laden and his associates continues.

''We've got U.S. forces on the hunt for not only bin Laden but anybody who plots and plans with bin Laden,'' Bush said. ''There are Afghan forces on the hunt. ... We've got Pakistan forces on the hunt.''

Bush's entourage flew into the city from Bagram in a flock of heavily armed helicopters. Two door gunners on a helicopter carrying the news media fired off a short burst of machine-gun fire as the aircraft flew low and fast over barren, rugged countryside. A U.S. military spokesman said later the gunners were test-firing their weapons as part of ''standard operating procedure'' for such helicopters.

''Neither President Bush nor any of the aircraft in the flight were ever in any danger,'' said Lt.-Col. Paul Fitzpatrick.

Before leaving Afghanistan, Bush gave a pep talk to U.S. troops at the air base. Speaking to about 500 soldiers in a huge recreational tent, Bush expressed resolve over the U.S. mission.

''I assure you this government of yours will not blink, we will not yield. ...The United States doesn't cut and run,'' Bush said to enthusiastic cheers and applause.

There are about 19,000 America troops in Afghanistan, a number U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has said would be reduced to about 16,000 by summer.

They are supported by troops from a number of NATO countries, including Canada, which has just taken command of the southern area near Kandahar. About 2,200 troops are involved in the Canadian mission there