U.S. troops cheer Bush in Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq – The troops were getting ornery, 600 sitting for more than an hour, waiting – for no reason, it seemed – to get in the chow line at the Bob Hope Dining Hall at Baghdad International Airport and get their turkey dinners.

Finally, a visibly nervous U.S. administrator Paul Bremer strode to the podium with Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the U.S. military commander in Iraq.

The two dispensed a few quick words. Bremer then turned to Sanchez and said he had a Thanksgiving message from President Bush. Bremer said the most “senior” U.S. official among them should be the one to read it.

Turning toward the stage backdrop, Bremer asked: “Is there anyone back there who’s more senior than us?”

At that moment, Bush strode forth from the wings in an Army track suit emblazoned with a 1st Armored Division patch. The bored crowd shot immediately from their seats and whooped. As he surveyed the crowd, a tear dripped down the president’s cheek.

“I was just looking for a warm meal somewhere,” Bush said, to another whoop. “Thanks for inviting me to dinner.”

After his speech, Bush waded into the crowd, shaking hands, dispensing hugs and posing for photos.

A towering Army master sergeant, Michael Johnson of Turlock, Calif., thrust his hand at the president.

“Johnson!” Bush declared. “I’m glad we’re on the same side.”

Bush served mashed potatoes for 10 minutes and then ducked into a meeting with national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, Bremer, Sanchez and four members of the Iraqi Governing Council. Then, 2 1/2hours after he arrived, he was off.

In a trip infused with cloak-and-dagger secrecy, Bush quietly slipped away from his Texas ranch Wednesday and flew to Washington, where he changed planes and picked up a few staff for the long flight to the Iraqi capital. The presidential visit had been planned for almost six weeks but was tightly held until after Bush departed from Baghdad.

Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Don Shepperd, a military analyst, said he thought the risks “were absolutely minimal as long as secrecy could be maintained.” The risk also was reduced by landing at night, reducing the threat from heat-seeking missiles, and the fact that the plane has sophisticated anti-missile technology.

Vice President Dick Cheney was told ahead of time. Only a handful of aides knew in advance; Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was informed last week. Secretary of State Colin Powell also was in the loop.

No member of Congress was informed in advance. White House deputy press secretary Claire Buchan didn’t know about the trip when she briefed reporters in Crawford on the president’s Thanksgiving Day plans.

In a message aimed at both U.S. troops and the Iraqi opposition, Bush acknowledged that U.S. forces are engaged in a difficult mission. “Those who attack our coalition forces and kill innocent Iraqis are testing our will. They hope we will run,” he told the troops.

But the president pledged that the United States will remain on the offensive and ultimately prevail in Iraq because “the cause is just” and Iraqis deserve their freedom.

“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,” he told the troops, most of whom were from the 1st Armored Division and the 82nd Airborne.

The White House’s stealth strategy for the visit included a dark takeoff and landing by Air Force One, which shut off its running lights in the near-moonless night as it flew under a fake call sign.

Soldiers said they were impressed to see the commander in chief in Baghdad days after a cargo plane was struck by a shoulder-fired missile.

“It was a display of confidence in our ability to protect not just us, but him,” said Pfc. Telo Monahan, 20, of Woodinville.

But other soldiers grew angry that their departure from the airport was delayed for an hour, while they waited for Air Force One to leave. Finding the door barred, about 50 troops got into a shouting match with the soldier blocking their exit. The streets of Baghdad were too dangerous to delay their departure any longer, they shouted.

“Do you have any idea how many IEDs are on this road?” one soldier who didn’t give his name shouted, referring to improvised explosive devices or roadside bombs. “I have to get back to my base. I don’t want to lose a soldier because the president wants us to sit here.”