( Usatoday ) - President Bush, delivering what the White House called the centerpiece speech of his European tour, said in Paris that European nations and the U.S. must be resolute in keeping Afghanistan free of terrorist bases.
A key component of Bush's goodbye tour has been drumming up financial support for Afghanistan's struggling government. He seeks $50 billion over five years. Pledges thus far, including U.S. money, total about $21 million.
He thanked French President Nicolas Sarkozy for promising to send more troops and said he is seeing signs of a "new era of trans-Atlantic unity" in Europe's leaders such as Sarkozy, Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.