WASHINGTON, March 29 (UPI) -- First lady Laura Bush left Washington for Afghanistan Tuesday to highlight women's issues and meet with U.S. troops.
"I'm thrilled to be going again because it's the most touching, inspiring thing I've ever been through both in terms of seeing the troops and how they are working in that country, but also the women and their own personal stories," she said before departing Andrews Air Force Base.
The visit, the second to Afghanistan by the first lady, was coinciding with one by the U.S.-Afghan Women's Council.
Bush was to return to Washington early Thursday after just five hours on the ground in Afghanistan.
The White House said she would visit a women's teacher training institute, meet with Afghan women and announce a $17.7 million grant for the American University of Afghanistan and a $5 million grant for the International School in Kabul, the Afghan capital.
She would also meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and have dinner with U.S. troops at Baghram Air Base outside Kabul before returning home.
