US President George W Bush has made a surprise visit to Afghanistan, where he warned of a long struggle to restore stability, seven years after ordering troops into the country.
Mr 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 symbolic indication of lingering hostility toward the outgoing US leader.
President Bush landed at Bagram Air Base near Kabul with 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.
President 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.
This year has been the bloodiest for foreign forces here since the Taliban fell, and General David McKiernan, the top commander, has asked for more than 20,000 extra US soldiers to counter rising violence.
President Karzai said Afghanistan was grateful for the help, but that Afghanistan doesn't want to be a burden on the international community forever.
Asked about a possible timetable for a withdrawal of foreign troops, President Karzai indicated now was not the time to talk about pulling out.
President Bush left the country shortly after the press conference.
