Washington - Joined by an Afghan woman exile, President Bush yesterday signed relief legislation he vowed would be a first step in rebuilding Afghanistan.
"America and our allies will do our part in the rebuilding Afghanistan. We learned our lessons from the past. We will not leave until the mission is complete," Mr Bush said in signing the Afghan Women and Children Relief Act.
The bill provides aid to improve the health and education of Afghan women and children. It also would help refugees in surrounding countries. The legislation taps an unspecified amount of emergency spending money approved by Congress in the wake of the September 11th attacks on the United States.
Mr Bush pledged to work with international institutions on the long-term development of Afghanistan and to give immediate humanitarian aid. "After years of civil war and misrule by the Taliban, this is going to be an incredibly difficult winter in Afghanistan," he said.
The president signed the bill in a ceremony at The National Museum of Women in the Arts.