US President George Bush made a surprise visit to Afghanistan today, flying there secretly, via Shannon, to support its fledgling government in the face of rising violence from al-Qaeda and Taliban militants.
Mr Bush's entourage flew into the city from Bagram Air Base in a flotilla of heavily armed helicopters. Two door gunners on a press helicopter fired off a short burst of machine gun fire at unknown targets as the aircraft flew low and fast over barren countryside.
Mr Bush arrived safely at the presidential palace where he was greeted by Afghanistan's leader Hamid Karzai. The two men walked down a red carpet past a military honour guard to begin their meetings.
"Welcome the president to Afghanistan," Mr Karzai said as they paused for photographs.
When asked why Osama bin Laden was still at large five years after the hunt for him began, Mr Bush said he was confident the leader of the al-Qaeda, blamed for the September 11th attacks on the United States, would be brought to justice.
"We are making progress in dismantling al-Qaeda," he told reporters at a joint press conference with Mr Karzai. "Slowly but surely we are bringing people to justice, and the world is a better place for it."
Mr Bush also reiterated his stance that Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.
The president said Iran should be allowed to have a civilian nuclear programme, but that the "world is speaking with one voice" in opposing Iranian development of a nuclear weapon.
"Iran must not have a nuclear weapon," Mr Bush said during a news conference in the Afghan capital of Kabul. "The most destabilising thing that can happen in this region and the world is for Iran to develop a nuclear weapon."
Mr Bush said that he has repeatedly assured Afghan nationals that the US Governent was firmly behind the country as it tries to build a stable democracy.
"They ask me with their words, they ask with their stares as they look in my eyes, 'Is the United States firmly committed to the future of afghanistan'? My answer is 'absolutely'," Bush said.
The Taliban deputy leader and former defence minister Mullah Abdullah Akhund said today that Mr Bush's "secret visit" showed the Taliban had a strong control over Afghanistan.
"If the American president's visit had been announced in advance, the Taliban mujahideen would have greeted him with rockets and attacks. But Bush proved his cowardice by coming on a secret visit as a thief," he told Reuters by satellite telephone.
"The Taliban mujahideen want to tell the American president ... that they will continue attacking your Afghan puppets and American forces, will continue sending bodies of American soldiers to America and this jihad will go on."
In India, the President's next destination, there have been violent protests ahead of Mr Bush's visit to the country.
While Bush remains more popular in India than he is in many other countries, there are still many there who object to the US-led invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Today's protesters carried placards that read: "Bully Bush, Go Home," and "Death to America, Death to Bush."
Police, some of them armed with rifles, were heavily deployed around the fairground, but as the rally grew, protesters charged a stage where about 200 Muslim leaders were waiting to speak, knocking over television cameras.
Surindra Singh Yadav, a senior police officer in charge of crowd control, said there were about 100,000 protesters.