President Bush made a surprise Thanksgiving visit to US forces in Baghdad Thursday, flying secretly to Iraq. It was the first trip ever by an American president to Iraq.
"You are defending the American people from danger and we are grateful," Bush told some 600 troops. "I was just looking for a warm meal somewhere," he joked. "Thanks for inviting me."
Terrorists are testing America's resolve, Bush said, and "they hope we will run."
"We did not charge hundreds of miles into the heart of Iraq, pay a bitter cost of casualties, defeat a ruthless dictator and liberate 25 million people only to retreat before a band of thugs and assassins," the president said.
"Those who attack our coalition forces and kill innocent Iraqis are testing our will.
"We will prevail. We will win because our cause is just ... We will win because you're part of the finest military ever assembled. We will prevail because the Iraqis want their freedom."
The president's plane landed at Baghdad International Airport after White House officials went to extraordinary lengths to keep the trip a secret, fearing its disclosure would prompt attempts to kill him in Iraq.
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, The AP reported.
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.
Within the White House only a handful of senior aides knew about the trip, officials said.
The violence in Iraq persisted Thursday as the US leader was en route there.
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. (Albawaba.com)
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