'Bush Makes Surprise Afghanistan Stop After Iraq Visit', AFP, 15 December 2008
EXCERPT: "US President George W. Bush made a surprise farewell visit Monday to Afghanistan, where he warned of a long struggle ahead to restore stability seven years after ordering troops into the country. Bush landed in pre-dawn darkness after an equally secretive stop in Iraq, where an angry Iraqi reporter threw two shoes at him in a powerfully symbolic indication of lingering hostility there toward the outgoing US leader. The president's visit to the two countries which will arguably most define his legacy comes just over a month before he hands the keys of the White House to his successor Barack Obama on January 20. Bush landed at Bagram Air Base near Kabul, virtually all lights on his Air Force One official plane turned off as part of a thick shroud of secrecy to ensure his safety. After addressing hundreds of US troops at the base, he flew by Blackhawk helicopter to Kabul for talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Bush acknowledged the difficulty of restoring peace to Afghanistan, where 70,000 foreign troops are fighting an insurgency that has grown increasingly violent since a US-led coalition ousted the hardline Taliban regime in 2001."
To continue reading this article, click here.
See also:
'Afghan media: Bush visits Afghanistan amid failure in war on terror', Xinhua, 16 December 2008
'Bush regrets not bringing Bin Laden to justice', Sify (India), 15 December 2008
'Bush affirms commitment to Afghanistan', The New York Times, 14 December 2008
Related posts:
'US commander sees "tough fight" in 2009', 8 December 2008
'Afghan leader complains US, NATO aren't succeeding', 26 November 2008
'Bush administration study favors bigger Afghan army', 7 November 2008
'Bush acknowledges tough fight in Afghanistan', 2 July 2008
