Laura Bush visits Afghanistan and urges more support

By Matt Spetalnick

KABUL (Reuters) - U.S. first lady Laura Bush appealed to the international community on Sunday not to abandon Afghanistan in the face of resurgent Taliban violence.

Rocked by daily battles with Taliban rebels that have killed some 12,000 people in two years, Kabul is to ask international donors in Paris this week to fund a $50-billion five-year development plan it hopes will undercut the insurgency.

Mrs Bush said a major thrust of her unannounced visit to Afghanistan was to shore up the international commitment as Afghan, U.S. and NATO forces struggle to contain Taliban guerrilla attacks and suicide bombs.

"We don't need to be intimidated by them," Mrs Bush told reporters traveling with her. "The international community can't drop Afghanistan now at this very crucial time."

It was important Afghans understood "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.

Mrs Bush said she hoped her visit would help her make the case in Paris that the international community "needs to stay with Afghanistan".

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said he would give donors a "wish-list" in Paris. "We will come back with some significant assistance," he told a news conference alongside Mrs Bush.

The U.S. military alone spends some $100 million a day fighting the Taliban, but daily spending on aid by all donors amounts to only $7 million, aid experts say.

The Taliban, backed by al Qaeda, have vowed to step up suicide bombings this year in an effort to wear down Western public support for keeping international forces in Afghanistan.

Asked whether she was concerned that the international community would abandon Afghanistan, Mrs Bush said: "I don't think they will. I just don't want them to be discouraged."

HOPEFUL SIGNS

Mrs Bush said her visit was a chance to showcase "hopeful signs" of reconstruction and improved women's rights since U.S.-led forces ousted the Taliban after the hardline movement refused to give up al Qaeda leaders behind the September 11 attacks.

The first lady traveled to the central Afghan town of Bamiyan, where in 2001 the Taliban blew up two ancient statues of Buddha carved into a mountainside.

In the shadow of the now empty caves where the giant Buddhas once stood, Mrs Bush was met by New Zealand troops who performed the traditional Maori haka dance, thrusting spears, and poking out tongues as U.S. bodyguards looked on slightly nervously.

The New Zealand troops in Bamiyan form one of 26 Provincial Reconstruction Teams across the country, units aimed at bringing aid and development to shore up support for the government.