Bush visits Iraq

Trytostaydead · Post by **Trytostaydead** » 2003-11-27 01:34pm

Bush Makes Surprise Visit to Baghad
10 minutes ago

By TERENCE HUNT, AP White House Correspondent

BAGHDAD, Iraq - President Bush (news - web sites) made a surprise Thanksgiving visit to American troops in Baghdad Thursday, flying secretly to violence-scarred Iraq (news - web sites) 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 minimize chances of making it a target — landed under a crescent moon at Baghdad 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.

While here, Bush spoke with soldiers from the 1st Armored Division and the 82nd Airborne Division at an airport mess hall. "You are defeating the terrorists here in Iraq," he said, "so we don't have to face them in our own country."

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, prompting a standing ovation and cheers.

Wearing an exercise jacket with a 1st Armored Division patch, Bush stood in a chow line and dished out sweet potatoes and corn for Thanksgiving dinner and posed with a platter of a fresh-baked turkey.

Plans for the trip were tightly held among a handful of senior aides. First lady Laura Bush, preparing a Thanksgiving Day dinner, was not told until Tuesday or Wednesday. Bush's parents, former President George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush, were invited to his ranch for the holiday but were not informed.

As for Bush taking the risk of a trip to Baghdad, Bartlett said it was appropriate for the president to visit troops on Thanksgiving. "It is also appropriate that the president travel in a way that his safety and security will not be compromised," he said.

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 about two and a half 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 Mrs. Bush and 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 (news - web sites). The first President Bush had been the first U.S. president to visit a war zone since President Nixon went to Vietnam in 1969.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2003-11-27 01:41pm

Good for him. Doesn't change the fact that a trained monkey could have handled the whole "War on Terror" better than he did, but this is still a good gesture.

Embracer Of Darkness · Post by **Embracer Of Darkness** » 2003-11-27 01:41pm

*Please get shot, please get shot, please get shot.*

Stravo · Post by **Stravo** » 2003-11-27 01:42pm

Embracer Of Darkness wrote:*Please get shot, please get shot, please get shot.*

Why don't you shut the fuck up ass?

Embracer Of Darkness · Post by **Embracer Of Darkness** » 2003-11-27 01:43pm

Stravo wrote:
Embracer Of Darkness wrote:*Please get shot, please get shot, please get shot.*
Why don't you shut the fuck up ass?

Maybe I want the guy shot, did I ask your opinion? Deal with it, ass.

MKSheppard · Post by **MKSheppard** » 2003-11-27 01:44pm

Wow, that takes guts, flying into BIA, after a DHL plane was almost shot down days ago.

Stravo · Post by **Stravo** » 2003-11-27 01:47pm

Embracer Of Darkness wrote:
Stravo wrote:
Embracer Of Darkness wrote:*Please get shot, please get shot, please get shot.*
Why don't you shut the fuck up ass?
Maybe I want the guy shot, did I ask your opinion? Deal with it, ass.

No assclown you just posted some flame bait and now its just 'opinion'? Fuck you. Deal with me calling you on it.

Knife · Post by **Knife** » 2003-11-27 01:51pm

Embracer Of Darkness wrote:*Please get shot, please get shot, please get shot.*

Maybe I want the guy shot, did I ask your opinion? Deal with it, ass.

Stating that it is your opinion does not make it inable to be attacked or rebutted.

Weather you like the man or not, why would he deserve to be assasinated? Face it, it was flame bait and you got what you wanted. Deal with it.

Montcalm · Post by **Montcalm** » 2003-11-27 01:52pm

Reaction of OBL and other dumbasses(

i missed my chance)

Knife · Post by **Knife** » 2003-11-27 01:52pm

BTW, OT. Good for him. I can think of quite a few things else he could do too, but still, good for him. The troops like that kind of thing.

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2003-11-27 01:53pm

Bush is an ass, but I give him credit for this. The chances of him getting killed where small, but they were certainly larger than had he eaten at home. It was nice surprise for the troops.

MKSheppard · Post by **MKSheppard** » 2003-11-27 02:06pm

This is a masterpiece of disinformation.

CRAWFORD, Texas - President Bush (news - web sites) will spend part of his Thanksgiving Day calling soldiers to express his and the nation's gratitude for their service in Iraq .

LOL LOL, yeah, and everyone said he was in Crawford, TX on his ranch...

I just saw the video...

the troops were told a Civilian VIP would be addressing them, most likely Paul Bremer, and at the dinner address, Bremer says "Someone more
senior than me." and in walks W, to loud boisterous cheering.

jegs2 · Post by **jegs2** » 2003-11-27 02:06pm

Knife wrote:The troops like that kind of thing.

Indeed they do. That was a pretty good operation, although I would have hated to be on a corps or division staff over there -- those guys were probably up for 50 hours, wargaming every possible scenario. For the troops on the ground who got to see the president (and brag to their cohorts about having seen him), it was well worth it...

Knife · Post by **Knife** » 2003-11-27 02:08pm

jegs2 wrote:Indeed they do. That was a pretty good operation, although I would have hated to be on a corps or division staff over there -- those guys were probably up for 50 hours, wargaming every possible scenario. For the troops on the ground who got to see the president (and brag to their cohorts about having seen him), it was well worth it...

Well, staying up for two days straight to prepare for the Pres, that's why they get paid the big bucks.

BoredShirtless · Post by **BoredShirtless** » 2003-11-27 02:09pm

jegs2 wrote:
Knife wrote:The troops like that kind of thing.
Indeed they do. That was a pretty good operation, although I would have hated to be on a corps or division staff over there -- those guys were probably up for 50 hours, wargaming every possible scenario. For the troops on the ground who got to see the president (and brag to their cohorts about having seen him), it was well worth it...

When do you think the staff would have known about his trip? The earlier, the better to prepare, but the greater the risk for it leaking out.

MKSheppard · Post by **MKSheppard** » 2003-11-27 02:09pm

jegs2 wrote: Indeed they do. That was a pretty good operation, although I would have hated to be on a corps or division staff over there -- those guys were probably up for 50 hours, wargaming every possible scenario.

Nice new SIG, if it's a bit too heavyon the tiny print.

jegs2 · Post by **jegs2** » 2003-11-27 02:12pm

BoredShirtless wrote:When do you think the staff would have known about his trip? The earlier, the better to prepare, but the greater the risk for it leaking out.

From what I gather, the CG had 72 hours notice. He would have alerted his staff pretty quickly...

MKSheppard · Post by **MKSheppard** » 2003-11-27 02:15pm

Bush only took journalists that he could trust to keep silent...

...wanna bet they all worked for NewsCorp and Rupert Murdoch,
considering FOX scooped them all by 10-20 minutes on this trip?

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2003-11-27 02:17pm

His wife didn't even know about it till just a few hours before it took place.

MKSheppard · Post by **MKSheppard** » 2003-11-27 02:17pm

MKSheppard wrote: LOL LOL, yeah, and everyone said he was in Crawford, TX on his ranch...

For security reasons, the White House had said that the president would spend the weekend at his ranch in Crawford, Texas with his family, going so far as to release a menu for their Thanksgiving Dinner.

This is major level Disinfo from a man who is head and shoulders above
Clinton. Clinton could never have pulled off this kind of stunt/feat.

Andrew J. · Post by **Andrew J.** » 2003-11-27 02:21pm

That was a nice gesture taht took a lot of courage. Not exactly the, uh, safest way to support the troops, but he's a big boy, he can take care of himself.

Hamel · Post by **Hamel** » 2003-11-27 02:24pm

For once, he done a good thing

Can't really criticise him for this

MKSheppard · Post by **MKSheppard** » 2003-11-27 02:28pm

Hamel wrote:For once, he done a good thing

Can't really criticise him for this

I like your new sig, it's so SHEPLIKE!

Wow, whats the world coming to? When Hamel adopts Shep's fave
character from that movie?

CaptainChewbacca · Post by **CaptainChewbacca** » 2003-11-27 02:36pm

I really respect what he did, but my God, what happens if the current President of the US gets shot down during a secret flight over Iraq?

Has a President ever been to a region where there was active conflict going on?

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2003-11-27 02:50pm

CaptainChewbacca wrote:I really respect what he did, but my God, what happens if the current President of the US gets shot down during a secret flight over Iraq?

Has a President ever been to a region where there was active conflict going on?

Nixon went to Vietnam.