Bush Makes Surprise Afghanistan Visit

President Bush arrived in India on Wednesday after making a brief, unannounced visit to Afghanistan where he said he remains confident Osama bin Laden "will be brought to justice" five years after the hunt for the terrorist leader began.

He also vowed to stand by this emerging democracy and "not cut and run" in the face of rising violence.

Asked at a news conference in the capital city of Kabul about the search for bin Laden and the president's pledge after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks to capture him "dead or alive," Mr. Bush said the search for bin Laden and his associates continues.

"It's not a matter of if they're brought to justice, it's when they're brought to justice," Mr. Bush said.

Bin Laden is thought to be hiding on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, which Mr. Bush is also visiting on this trip.

"We're making progress in dismantling al Qaeda. Slowly but surely, we're bringing the people to justice and the world is better for it," he said in an appearance alongside Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

Mr. Bush's five-hour trip to Afghanistan – his first – comes as violence there is surging. More than 200 U.S. personnel have died in the Afghan conflict in the past four years. Militants stepped up attacks in the past year, making it the most violent since the U.S. overthrew the Taliban in 2001, following the 9/11 attacks.

The stop wasn't a complete surprise, reports CBS News senior White House correspondent Bill Plante. There are still 18,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan and a U.S.-backed government. But it was kept secret for security reasons until the president was en route.

Mr. Bush held a working lunch with Karzai and other Afghan leaders, attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the U.S. embassy in Kabul and spoke to U.S. troops at Bagram Air Base.

"People all over the world are watching the experience here in Afghanistan," Mr. Bush said, praising Karzai as "a friend and an ally."

Karzai greeted the U.S. president as "our great friend, our great supporter, a man who helped us liberate."

Mr. Bush's entourage flew into the city from Bagram in a flock 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, rugged countryside.

Before leaving Afghanistan, Mr. Bush gave a pep talk to U.S. troops at the air base. Speaking to about 500 soldiers in a huge recreational tent, he expressed resolve at the U.S. mission here.

"I assure you this government of yours will not blink, we will not yield. ...The United States is not cut and run," Mr. Bush said to enthusiastic cheers and applause.

Though he stopped in Afghanistan, CBS News White House Correspondent Mark Knoller reports Mr. Bush arrived in India exactly on schedule, 20 hours and 7,500 miles after he left Washington.

It's the first visit to India by an American president since Bill Clinton six years ago. Mr. Bush regards India as an ally in the war on terrorism and a strategic partner in promoting democracy. He also views India's 1.1 billion people as a growing market for U.S. goods and services.

Mr. Bush arrived in India as talks on a landmark U.S.-Indian nuclear pact went down to the wire tens of thousands of Indians rallied in New Delhi to protest his visit. Demonstrators, many of them Muslim, chanted "Death to Bush!" and waved placards reading, "Bully Bush, Go Home."

The nuclear pact is touted as the cornerstone of an emerging strategic partnership between the two countries after nearly a half-century of Cold War estrangement. But negotiators have struggled to settle differences over how to separate India's tightly entwined civilian and military atomic programs.

Setting aside protocol, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh welcomed Mr. Bush at the airport as he arrived with his wife Laura Bush and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

After India, Mr. Bush will travel to Pakistan.

The suspected presence of Taliban militants in Pakistan has become a source of tension in relations with Afghanistan. More than two dozen suicide attacks in recent months have fueled Afghan suspicions that militants are operating out of Pakistan.

Mr. Bush said that he will raise the issue of cross border infiltrations with Pakistan's president during his visit there.