Laura Bush, on Afghan visit, urges strong support

U.S. first lady Laura Bush made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan on Sunday with an appeal to the international community not to abandon the war-torn country in the face of resurgent Taliban violence.

She flew into Kabul under tight security for an 8-1/2-hour trip to a place that her husband, President George W. Bush, has declared a main front in the battle against Muslim militants.

Mrs. Bush depicted her visit as a chance to showcase "hopeful signs" of reconstruction and improved women's rights since U.S.-led forces ousted the fundamentalist Taliban government more than six years ago.

Another major thrust of her mission was to shore up the international commitment to the country as Afghan, U.S. and NATO forces struggle to contain a Taliban guerrilla war.

"We don't need to be intimidated by them," Mrs. Bush, making her third visit to Afghanistan, told reporters on her plane heading for Kabul.

"The international community can't drop Afghanistan now at this very crucial time," she said.

It was important for the Afghan people to get the message that "the rest of the world is with you and that we're not going to leave you right now when the Taliban and al Qaeda is trying to intimidate you," she said.

Washington, the biggest contributor to NATO's force in Afghanistan, has met resistance from some of its European allies to its calls to boost troop levels.

Aid donors have also become increasingly alarmed by rising violence in the country, which over the past two years has been the bloodiest since the Taliban's ouster.

Mindful of the Taliban threat, the White House kept a tight lid of secrecy on Mrs. Bush's travels until the moment she landed. Only then were journalists accompanying her allowed to report her arrival.