WASHINGTON?Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan’s interim leader, meets President Bush today seeking a continuing U.S. commitment to help restore the peace in Afganistan, officials said.

Before leaving for the United States, Karzai told Afghan television that he would use the trip to push for the expansion of a multinational peacekeeping force into the rest of Afghanistan.

The Bush administration has resisted U.S. involvement in the 2,500-person British-led international security assistance force operating in Kabul. Thousands more troops are expected.

The Bush administration is undecided on how long U.S. troops, currently numbering about 4,000, should remain in Afghanistan.

In addition to security issues, Bush and Karzai are expected to discuss rebuilding Afghanistan, and political issues such as the role of women in Afghan civic institutions, a U.S. official said.