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Bush backs Iraqi PM on surprise Baghdad visit
AFP/Paul Richards
US President George W. Bush greets Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki Baghdad inside the US Embassy during an unannounced five-hour trip inside Iraq.By Paul Richards
AFP
BAGHDAD
Petroleumworld.com 06 14 06
US President George W. Bush flew into Baghdad Tuesday on a surprise five-hour visit to back the new government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in its fight against the raging insurgency.
The visit, Bush's first since November 2003, was marked by the tightest security and secrecy which meant that even Maliki learned that he was to see the president only minutes before they met.
The president gave his unequivocal backing to the new prime minister -- a Shiite whose government was formed almost half a year after elections -- saying he was impressed by the composition of the Iraqi cabinet and its strategy.
"I appreciate you recognizing that the future of your country is in your hands," Bush said. "If given the right help, I'm convinced you'll succeed.
"I've come to not only look you in the eye. I've also come to tell you that when America gives its word, it will keep its word," said Bush, who left his Camp David ranch in secret overnight to make the surprise visit.
"I'm impressed by the cabinet that you've assembled... I'm impressed the strength of your character and your desire to succeed. And I'm impressed by your strategy," he told the premier.
Maliki, who described the meeting as a "milestone for good relations", vowed that Iraq was "determined to succeed and defeat terrorism. We will defeat terrorism with the support and partnership of the United States.
"God willing, all the suffering will be over and all the soldiers will return to their countries."
Bush also used his visit to thank the US troops in Iraq.
"I thank you for your sacrifice. I thank you for your service. I thank you for making history," he told about 300 soldiers at the US embassy in Baghdad.
Commenting on lengthy tours of duty in Iraq, Bush said "I understand long deployments are tough. They're tough on you and they're tough on your families.
"The people of this country suffered under the hands of a brutal tyrant. And thanks to the United States forces and coalition forces, the people are liberated from the clutches of Saddam Hussein," said Bush to strong applause.
"America's safer. The world is better off. And the Iraqi people have a chance to realize the great blessings of liberty because Saddam Hussein is no longer in power."
However, he warned that tough days lay ahead.
Referring to how Iraqi women want their children to grow up in a peaceful world, to be well educated and to live in peace, he said: "It's a common desire and it's one that you all are helping the Iraqis realize. It's important work, it's vital work, and it's historic work."
Promising to crack down on insurgents, Bush said "what happens here in Iraq reaches far beyond the borders of Iraq. The war on terror really is -- will be addressed by strong actions by our intelligence and military services to bring to justice those who would do us harm."
"And when Iraq succeeds -- and it will -- the rest of the world, particularly in the Middle East, will see such a hopeful example of what's possible."
Bush has come under increasing political fire at home over a war that has claimed the lives of nearly 2,500 US troops.
The president, together with his advisors, earlier strode into the domed atrium of the US embassy in Baghdad and shook hands with Maliki.
"Good to see you," said the Iraqi prime minister. "Thanks for having me," replied Bush.
The meeting was originally expected to be a video conference from Bush's ranch in the United States.
The president's visit comes almost a week after Al-Qaeda leader in Iraq Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in a US air strike, an event hailed by Washington as a major breakthrough in the war against the insurgency.
It also came as at least 32 people were killed in Iraq, including 18 in five car bomb attacks in the oil city of Kirkuk, underlining how horrific violence has become daily routine in the country.
The visit also coincides with the promised implementation of Maliki's much-vaunted new security plan for Baghdad which will include extending the nightly curfew and 40,000 US and Iraqi troops patrolling the capital.
The president was accompanied on the trip by senior aides National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, Chief of Staff Josh Bolten, White House counsellor Dan Bartlett, Deputy Chief of Staff Joe Hagan and White House spokesman Tony Snow, according to a pool reporter travelling with him.
On his last visit, Bush flew in to eat an emotional Thanksgiving dinner with 600 soldiers on November 27, 2003, a visit also organized under the greatest secrecy.
Bartlett told reporters the trip was planned over the past month by a small group of six White House insiders including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Vice President Dick Cheney and Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
"When you're dealing with issues of enormous consequence, the security of our country, the security of the Middle East and the world, and you're making such monumental decisions, it's critically important that you're able to meet with the new leader, confer with the leader, who you're going to be making those decisions with," Bartlett said.
Bartlett said Malik only learned of Bush's visit after the president's helicopter had landed in the Green Zone.
Bush left Iraq at around 10:00 pm (1800 GMT).
AFP 131931 GMT 06 06
Copyright ©2006 AFP. All Rights Reserved.
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