Laura Bush Visits Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan — Laura Bush flew by helicopter deep into central Afghanistan on Sunday on a one-day visit to highlight the United States’ continued commitment to the country and to President Hamid Karzai, ahead of an international donors conference this week in Paris.

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Larry Downing/Reuters

Laura Bush watched a traditional New Zealand arrival dance on Sunday at a base controlled by that country in Afghanistan. Her trip came as concerns grew over the Afghan president’s ability to address the country’s economic and political problems.

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Her visit comes as concern has been growing, particularly in Europe and at the United Nations, that Mr. Karzai might not be up to the task of addressing Afghanistan’s many economic and political problems.

The occasion was marred, too, by continuing violence around the country. Eleven police officers were killed in an ambush south of the capital, and a local journalist was found shot dead in southern Helmand Province after he was abducted by gunmen from his house on Saturday. Also in Helmand Province on Sunday, three British soldiers were killed and a fourth was wounded by a suicide bomber, Reuters reported.

As on her two previous visits to Afghanistan, Mrs. Bush emphasized her support for women’s development and educational and training projects. She flew to Bamian, one of the country’s poorest provinces, which is overseen by Afghanistan’s only female governor, Habiba Sarabi, a former minister of women’s affairs.

Bamian suffered some of the worst massacres and devastation under the Taliban, including the destruction of the two colossal Buddhas just months before the United States intervention in Afghanistan in 2001. Today, however, it is one of the most peaceful and secure places in the country.

Mrs. Bush’s visit was a demonstration of support for Mr. Karzai and his government as it prepared to ask for about $50 billion in pledges of assistance from international donors at the conference this week. Mrs. Bush said she would attend the conference.

In Kabul she met with Mr. Karzai as well as Afghan teachers in training and students, and she announced $80 million for two American government programs in education. The United States Agency for International Development will spend $40 million on scholarships and on developing the campus of the American University of Afghanistan, and it will spend $40 million on a national literacy program over the next five years, she said at a brief appearance with Mr. Karzai in the gardens of the presidential palace.

Western donors are expected to meet Afghanistan’s most urgent priorities in agriculture, energy, security and education, but a number of them are demanding that the conference also be used for a critical review of the government’s performance, in particular its failure to curb rampant corruption.

Mr. Karzai promised that his government would go to Paris with a “very realistic evaluation of the last six years, of our achievements, of our progress and our problems,” including corruption.

He added that he was confident of continued international support. “We’ll come back with some significant assistance from the international community to the Afghan people,” he said.