Bush stuns troops in Iraq visit

President Bush yesterday swooped into Baghdad for a surprise Thanksgiving Day visit with U.S. troops and, with a tear running down his cheek, said their countrymen “pray for your safety and your strength as you continue to defend America.”

The hundreds of stunned soldiers, standing on chairs and tables, cheered wildly at the president’s surprise arrival.

“I was just looking for a warm meal somewhere,” Mr. Bush deadpanned. “Thank you for inviting me to dinner.”

Mr. Bush had sneaked out of his Crawford, Texas, ranch in extraordinary secrecy Wednesday night to ride in an unmarked car through Waco traffic to an airport where the presidential plane sat idling. He departed at 8:25 p.m. EST for the 11-hour trip to Baghdad by way of Washington.

Air Force One — which flew in radio silence with running lights off and fighter jets on either side — landed under a sliver of a moon at Baghdad International Airport about 5:30 p.m. local time yesterday (9:30 a.m. EST).

None of the 600 soldiers from the 1st Armored Division and the 82nd Airborne Division had any idea that the president would be guest of honor at their turkey and ham dinner in Bob Hope Dining Hall at the Baghdad airport.

U.S. Iraq administrator L. Paul Bremer and ground forces commander Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the scheduled speakers, had greeted the restless soldiers, who had waited for dinner for about an hour.

Mr. Bremer then said he also brought a greeting from the president, and that the most “senior” U.S. official among them should read it.

He turned toward the side of the stage and asked, “Is there anyone back there who’s more senior than us?”

That’s when Mr. Bush emerged from under radar-reflective camouflage netting and the soldiers, packed into the small hall, erupted into thunderous applause.

The president clearly was moved by the reception, his eyes welling with tears. His voice choked with emotion several times during his short speech.

“You’re engaged in a difficult mission,” Mr. Bush told the soldiers. “Those who attack our coalition forces and kill innocent Iraqis are testing our will. They hope we will run.

“We did not charge hundreds of miles into the heart of Iraq, pay a bitter cost in casualties, defeat a brutal dictator and liberate 25 million people only to retreat before a band of thugs and assassins,” the president said.

Those words drew a standing ovation and shouts of “hoo-ah,” the all-purpose Army chant expressing approval.

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