(1 Mar 2006)
AP Television
1. Wide exterior of presidential palace
2. Mid of Afghani and US flags
3. Wide of US helicopter landing
4. Close of US helicopter
5. Various of Afghan President Hamid Karzai inspecting the troops
6. Karzai greeting US President George W. Bush and US First Lady Laura Bush
7. Karzai greeting US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice
8. Bush and Karzai walking up the aisle to the presidential palace
9. Rice walking to separate meeting
10. Wide exterior presidential palace
POOL
11. Various of Bush and Karzai at meeting
12. Various of Laura Bush and Dr. Zenat Karzai, wife of President Hamid Karzai at meeting shaking hands
13. Wide exterior of presidential palace
STORYLINE:
US President George W. Bush made a surprise visit to Afghanistan on Wednesday, flying in secretly to support the country's fledging government in the face of rising violence from al-Qaida and Taliban militants.
Bush made a detour from a trip to India and Pakistan for a five-hour visit in Afghanistan that was not announced officially until Air Force One landed at the sprawling Bagram military base north of Kabul, the capital.
The White House wanted to conceal Bush's presence to reduce the risk of any attempt on his life.
Bush, making his first visit to Afghanistan, was later greeted by President Hamid Karzai at his palace in Kabul.
Bush was accompanied by his wife, Laura, and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Karzai welcomed the US president as the two leaders paused for photographs on a red carpet.
Bush and Karzai were to have lunch and hold a joint press conference, said an Afghan official, who was familiar with Karzai's schedule but did not want to be named because of the security of the issues.
Bush was also to preside over a ceremonial ribbon-cutting for the US Embassy, and to give a "pep" talk to troops at Bagram Air Base.
When Bush signed-off on the India-Pakistan visit eight weeks ago, he was presented with the option of also going to Afghanistan, and chose it, White House press secretary Scott McClellan said.
Security was tight in the Afghan capital, with helicopters flying overhead and U.S. military Humvee jeeps patrolling the streets.
The U.S. military leads a 21,000-strong coalition of international forces hunting Taliban and al-Qaida militants, mostly in the country's south and east.
Karzai is a close ally of Washington and took power after the ousting of the hardline Taliban regime by U.S.-led forces in late 2001 for hosting al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.
More than 200 US personnel have died in the Afghan conflict in the past four years. Militants stepped up attacks last year, making it the most violent since the fall of the Taliban.
In Washington on Tuesday, the top U.S. military intelligence official told the US Congress that violence in Afghanistan increased 20 percent last year.
There are about 19,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, but that number will be reduced by about 16,000 this year.
It was Bush's second visit to a war front, following a secret trip he made to have Thanksgiving Dinner in 2003 with U.S. troops in Iraq.
Despite intense manhunts and a multimillion dollar reward, bin Laden remains at large and is believed to be in hiding in the rugged border area between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Bush and his wife Laura stepped off Air Force One under a bright, sunny sky against a background of snowcapped mountains.
Secret Service agents were deployed around the plane with automatic weapons.
Bush was to arrive in India late on Wednesday, then to Pakistan later in the week.
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