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Bush invites interim Afghan government leader to U.S.

By John King
CNN Senior Washington Correspondent

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush has invited Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan's interim government chairman, to visit Washington and meet with him at the White House, a senior administration official confirmed to CNN Thursday.

No date has been set yet, but the target is sometime in February, the official said. The idea is to give Karzai time to get settled in his new post and allow the interim government time to begin operating.

Representatives of Karzai are also lining up congressional meetings and will push that along when a U.S. congressional delegation visits him this week in Kabul.

The invitation for the Bush meeting was conveyed by U.S. envoy James Dobbins. The visit will be announced once a date is settled, which may come when new U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilizad meets with Karzai on Friday.

A visit was expected, given the United States' support and promotion of it as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.