(Refiles to fix typo in paragraph 10) By Matt Spetalnick KABUL, June 8 (Reuters) - U.S. first lady Laura Bush made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan on Sunday with an appeal to the international community not to abandon the war-torn country in the face of resurgent Taliban violence. She flew into Kabul under tight security for an 8-1/2-hour trip to a place that her husband, President George W. Bush, has declared a main front in the battle against Muslim militants. Mrs. Bush depicted her visit as a chance to showcase "hopeful signs" of reconstruction and improved women's rights since U.S.-led forces ousted the fundamentalist Taliban government more than six years ago. Another major thrust of her mission was to shore up the international commitment to the country as Afghan, U.S. and NATO forces struggle to contain a Taliban guerrilla war. "We don't need to be intimidated by them," Mrs. Bush, making her third visit to Afghanistan, told reporters on her plane heading for Kabul. "The international community can't drop Afghanistan now at this very crucial time," she said. It was important for the Afghan people to get the message that "the rest of the world is with you and that we're not going to leave you right now when the Taliban and al Qaeda is trying to intimidate you," she said. Washington, the biggest contributor to NATO's force in Afghanistan, has met resistance from some of its European allies to its calls to boost troop levels. Aid donors have also become increasingly alarmed by rising violence in the country, which over the past two years has been the bloodiest since the Taliban's ouster. Mindful of the Taliban threat, the White House kept a tight lid of secrecy on Mrs. Bush's travels until the moment she landed. Only then were journalists accompanying her allowed to report her arrival. MUCH TO BE DONE Mrs. Bush said she hoped her visit would help her make the case at an Afghan donors conference in Paris next week that the international community "needs to stay with Afghanistan." Some partners in Europe have been irked by the calls to do more in a war they believe the United States neglected to focus on Iraq. Bush's critics say Afghanistan is the more important battle against Islamic militants. The Taliban and their al Qaeda allies have vowed to step up suicide bombings in an effort to wear down Western public opinion about keeping international forces in Afghanistan. Asked whether she was concerned that the international community would abandon Afghanistan, Mrs. Bush said: "I don't think they will. I just don't want them to be discouraged." Her visit was to begin with a helicopter ride to Bamiyan province, an impoverished region on the ancient Silk Road trade route, to inspect a U.S.-funded road building project. On the way, she was to get an aerial view of the ruins of two ancient Buddha statues carved into a mountainside. The Taliban drew international condemnation in 2001 when it blew them up, considering them un-Islamic. Mrs. Bush planned to meet women setting up their own businesses, training as police officers and studying at university -- activities forbidden to them under the Taliban. She was to talk with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and visit U.S. troops before heading for Slovenia, where she will be joined by her husband on Monday at a U.S.-European summit. Defending Karzai, she insisted it is was wrong to blame him for Afghanistan's problems. "It's not that fair," Mrs. Bush said. "He inherited a country that had been totally devastated." Mrs. Bush, a former schoolteacher and librarian, said Afghan women she had spoken to recently had expressed fears the country could slide back into war if the international community abandons them. She cited progress in education for young girls, saying they are attending school in growing numbers. The Taliban banned girls from school when they were in power. "Afghanistan has made a lot of progress but there's still a lot more that needs to be done," Mrs. Bush said. While more women and girls have been able to go to school and get jobs since the Taliban were ousted, they still face threats, either from family members or factional forces, even in areas where the Taliban have no influence. (Editing by John O'Callaghan)
U.S. Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner, a Multi National Force - Iraq (MNF-I) spokesman, speaks to the media during a news conference at the International Zone in Baghdad June 4, 2008. REUTERS/Eduardo ...
