'It felt good,' GI says of Bush's visit
Trip to Iraq surprises almost everyone, especially press corps
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- President Bush made an unannounced visit to Baghdad on Thursday to spend part of Thanksgiving Day with U.S. troops, surprising not only the soldiers but also virtually everyone else in the world, including some members of the Secret Service.
"I can't think of a finer group of folks to have dinner with," Bush told the troops.
His visit marked the first time a U.S. president had traveled to Iraq, and concern for Bush's safety kept the trip cloaked in secrecy.
It came amid persistent insurgent attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq -- and less than a week after a cargo plane was struck by a missile and forced to land at the Baghdad airport.
Air Force One, with its lights turned off for security reasons, touched down at Baghdad International Airport at 5:31 p.m. (9:31 a.m. EST) and taxied to a remote corner of the airport.
Bush then went to a hangar where about 600 members of the 1st Armored Division and the 82nd Airborne Division had gathered.
The U.S. forces had been told that L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. civilian administrator in Iraq, and Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commander of coalition forces, would be attending the dinner.
As Bremer prepared to read a presidential proclamation to the troops, he said, "Let's see if we've got anybody more senior here who can read the president's Thanksgiving speech. Is there anybody back there who's more senior than I?"
Bush then emerged, misty-eyed and wearing a U.S. Army exercise jacket to a roaring ovation.
The shocked and elated soldiers jumped to their feet, pumped their fists in the air, roared with delight, and grabbed their cameras to snap photographs.
"I was just looking for a warm meal somewhere," Bush joked before getting serious.
"You are defending the American people from danger and we are grateful. You are defeating the terrorists here in Iraq."
The insurgents in the country are "testing our will. They hope we will run," he said.
But, he said, "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."
That line prompted a standing ovation.
"We will prevail. We will stay until the job is done," he said.
Afterward, Bush mingled with soldiers and temporarily joined the servers on the food line to dish out sweet potatoes and corn.
"It gave us a little extra oomph," Spc. Talitha Williams, an Arkansas native assigned to the 1st Armored Division. "Maybe we can get through this."
"It felt good," said Spc. Juan Deloera, also with the 1st Armored Division. "It really boosted my morale."
"It helps a lot knowing that the commander in chief himself is going to come out here and make some of the same sacrifices away from his family, away from his home, to show that he is devoted and in the same position that we are," said Pvt. Patrick McFarland of the 1st Armored Division.
"That's where your mind is, on home this time of the year, and you think about your loved ones, your friends and things like that, and then you have the leader of our country come here and share dinner with us. It's actually very special," said Sgt. Robert Dunn, a Dallas native with the 1st Armored Division.
The president also went behind closed doors for two separate meetings with U.S. commanders and four members of the Iraq Governing Council. After being on the ground 2.5 hours, the president left Baghdad around 8 p.m. (noon EST).
At the president's ranch in Crawford, Texas, where reporters had been told Bush would be having Thanksgiving dinner, the reaction among the press corps was shock and awe.
Word of the trip was so tightly held that some members of the Secret Service were not told, and the number of senior White House officials who knew about it could be counted on one hand.
Sanchez, the coalition commander, didn't learn of the trip until 72 hours beforehand.
Bush sneaked out of his 1,600-acre Crawford ranch in an unmarked car Wednesday evening, slipping past reporters without notice.
From there, at 7:25 p.m. (8:25 p.m. EST), he took a flight to Andrews Air Force Base to pick up close aides. They then switched planes for the flight to Baghdad.
As the plane was en route, White House communications director Dan Bartlett told the few reporters who were allowed to travel with Bush: "If this breaks while we're in the air, we're turning around."
The news broke minutes after Bush left Iraq.
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