Posted on 11/27/2003 9:42:19 AM PST by PeteFromMontana
Bush Makes Surprise Visit to Iraq Email this Story
Nov 27, 12:27 PM (ET)
By TERENCE HUNT
(AP) U.S. Army Specialist Thomas Huffstatler, left standing, of Summit Ark., standing, Sgt. Stephen... Full Image
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - President Bush made a surprise Thanksgiving visit to American troops in Baghdad Thursday, flying secretly to violence-scarred Iraq to thank U.S. forces for serving there. It was the first trip ever by an American president to Iraq - a mission tense with concern about his safety.
"You are defending the American people from danger and we are grateful," Bush told some 600 soldiers who were stunned and delighted by his appearance.
The president's plane - its lights darkened and windows closed to minimzie chances of making it a target - landed under a crescent moon at Bagdad International Airport.
Bush flew in on the plane he most often uses, and White House officials went to extraordinary lengths to keep the trip a secret, fearing its disclosure would prompt terrorist attempts to kill him.
The news of Bush's trip was not released until he was in the air on the way back to the United States. "If this breaks while we're in the air we're turning around," White House communications director Dan Bartlett told reporters on the flight to Baghdad.
Security fears were heightened by an attack last Saturday in which a missile struck a DHL cargo plane, forcing it to make an emergency landing at the airport with its wing aflame.
Bush spent only about two hours on the ground, limiting his visit to the airport dinner with U.S. forces. The troops had been told that the VIP guests would be L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. administrator in Iraq, and Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commander of coalition forces in Iraq.
In a ruse staged in the name of security, the White House had put out word that Bush would be spending Thanksgiving at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, with his wife, Laura, his parents and other family members. Even the dinner menu was announced.
Instead, Bush slipped away from his home without notice Wednesday evening and flew to Washington to pick up aides and a handful of reporters sworn to secrecy. Plans called for the trip to be abandoned if word had leaked out in advance.
Within the White House only a handful of senior aides knew about the trip, officials said.
Security fears were underscored by regular attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq. More than five dozen U.S. troops were killed by hostile fire in November, more than any other month since the end of major combat in Iraq on May 1. Early this week, a U.S. military official, Col. William Darley, said attacks peaked at more than 40 per day about two weeks ago and have since dropped to about 30 per day.
The violence persisted Thursday as the president was en route here.
Insurgents fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the Italian mission in Baghdad, damaging the building but causing no injuries, the U.S. military said. Also, a U.S. military convoy came under attack on the main highway west of Baghdad near the town of Abu Ghraib, witnesses said. And in the northern city of Mosul, unidentified gunmen shot dead an Iraqi police sergeant, said Brig. Gen. Muwaffaq Mohammed.
Since operations began, nearly 300 U.S. service members have died of hostile action, including 183 since May 1 when Bush declared an end to major fighting.
Bush's father visited U.S. troops at a desert outpost in Saudi Arabia on Thanksgiving Day 1990, in the runup to the Gulf War. "We won't pull punches. We are not here on some exercise. And we're not walking away until our mission is done, until the invader is out of Kuwait," he told the troops. At one p oint, he climbed into a bunker to chat with troops.
Bush's father shared lunch with U.S. troops 65 miles from Kuwait, occupied at the time by Saddam Hussein's forces. George H.W. Bush had been the first U.S. president to visit a front-line area since President Nixon went to Vietnam in 1969.
Eleanor Skeletal Clift is one of the ten most bitter and perfectly ugly people in the world. I really wish FoxNews would quit using her. I'm losing too much weight from barfing when she's on.
God Bless America.(BTW, that is not a declaration or a command, it is only a prayer!
They wouldn't have a leg to stand on. Presidents do this sort of thing. LBJ did it in Viet Nam. Nixon went to see the troops there too.
Bracket an "i" at the beginning of a text using the sideways carrots "<" and ">" (of course, without the quotation marks), and then close the text with "<" "/" "i" ">" (again, without the quotation marks).
GOTTA SEE THIS-WarEnduring Freedom 11/28/03-Baghdad,Pres.Bush
Posted by Diogenesis
On 11/27/2003 2:36 PM PST with 3 comments
ahoo, AP, Reuters, and the usual suspects | 11/28/03 | President Bush in Iraq with the valiant Armies of GoodU.S. Troops Across Iraq Cheer Surprise Bush Visit
Posted by Ex-Dem
On 11/27/2003 2:14 PM PST with 7 comments
Wired News ^ | November 27, 2003 | Dean YatesReuters: Some Iraqis Welcome Bush, Others Wish Him in Hell
Posted by Pokey78
On 11/27/2003 2:11 PM PST with 17 comments
Reuters ^ | 11/27/03 | Khaled OweisBush appearance stuns troops gathered at airport for Thanksgiving
Posted by Maria S
On 11/27/2003 1:25 PM PST with 31 comments
AP ^ | 11/27/03 | JIM KRANEBush Iraq text (Full transcript of Bush's Thanksgiving Speech to the troops in Iraq)
Posted by FairOpinion
On 11/27/2003 12:29 PM PST with 30 comments
Ledger Enquirer.com -- AP ^ | Nov. 27, 2003 | President George W. Bush(President)Bush Iraq Quotes
Posted by kattracks
On 11/27/2003 11:45 AM PST with 9 comments
AP | 11/27/03Bush Trip to Baghdad Kept Top-Secret
Posted by kattracks
On 11/27/2003 11:25 AM PST with 51 comments
NewsMax.com Wires ^ | 11/27/03 | APDFU SONG: Air Force Hymn (Pres. Bush in Baghdad!!!)
Posted by doug from upland
On 11/27/2003 11:24 AM PST with 11 comments
DFU SONG PARODIES | 11-2003 | Lyrics, Doug from UplandBush Makes Secret Thanksgiving Visit to Iraq
Posted by AmericanMade1776
On 11/27/2003 10:48 AM PST with 125 comments
wireservice.wired.com ^ | nov 27,2003 | steve hollandBush Makes Surprise Visit to Baghdad
Posted by Pro Consul
On 11/27/2003 9:42 AM PST with 14 comments
Fox News ^ | 11/27/2003 | Associated PressBush Makes Surprise Visit to Iraq
Posted by PeteFromMontana
On 11/27/2003 9:42 AM PST with 172 comments
mywaynews via Drudge Report ^ | 11/27/2003 | TERENCE HUNTPresident Bush is eating in my undisclosed location (UPDATE: Undisclosed location is IRAQ!)
Posted by ChiefKujo
On 11/27/2003 7:37 AM PST with 1,137 comments
Eyes on ^ | 271830(C)NOV03 | ChiefKujo
I'm with you there, Bullish. My eyes misted up and I got a lump in my throat watching the obvious love and respect that the troops and President Bush have for each other. We NEED this kind of leader.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.