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Politics : WHO IS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT IN 2004 -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: calgal who wrote (7271)	12/8/2003 11:17:27 PM
From: calgal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10965

Thanksgiving in Baghdad and more. From the December 15, 2003 issue: The president's Thanksgiving Triumph gives the Washington Post heartburn. 12/15/2003, Volume 009, Issue 14 Bush's Baghdad Surprise THE WEEKLY STANDARD closed early last week because of Thanksgiving, and thus we missed the chance to applaud the president's trip to visit the troops in Baghdad. The email excerpted below from a captain in Iraq who attended the dinner is eloquent on the meaning of the trip to the soldiers serving in Iraq. We knew there was a dinner planned with Ambassador Bremer and [Lieutenant General] Sanchez. There were 600 seats available and all the units in the division were tasked with filling a few tables. . . . Soldiers were grumbling about having to sit through another dog-and-pony show, so we had to pick soldiers to attend. I chose not to go. But about 1500 the G2 [division intelligence officer] . . . came up to me and with a smile, asked me to come to dinner with him, to meet him in his office at 1600 and bring a camera. I didn't really care about getting a picture with Sanchez or Bremer, but when the division's senior intelligence officer asks you to go, you go. We were seated in the chow hall, fully decorated for Thanksgiving when aaaaallllll kinds of secret service guys showed up. That was my first clue, because Bremer's been here before and his personal security detachment is not that big. Then Brigadier General Dempsey got up to speak, and he welcomed Ambassador Bremer and Lieutenant General Sanchez. Bremer thanked us all and pulled out a piece of paper as if to give a speech. He mentioned that the President had given him this Thanksgiving speech to give to the troops. He then paused and said that the senior man present should be the one to give it. He then looked at Sanchez, who just smiled. Bremer then said that we should probably get someone more senior to read the speech. Then, from behind the camouflage netting, the President of the United States came around. The mess hall actually erupted with hollering. Troops bounded to their feet with shocked smiles and just began cheering with all their hearts. The building actually shook. It was just unreal. I was absolutely stunned. Not only for the obvious, but also because I was only two tables away from the podium. There he stood, less than thirty feet away from me! The cheering went on and on and on. Soldiers were hollering, cheering, and a lot of them were crying. There was not a dry eye at my table. When he stepped up to the cheering, I could clearly see tears running down his cheeks. It was the most surreal moment I've had in years. . . . Here was this man, our President, came all the way around the world, spending 17 hours on an airplane and landing in the most dangerous airport in the world, where a plane was shot out of the sky not six days before. Just to spend two hours with his troops. Only to get on a plane and spend another 17 hours flying back. It was a great moment, and I will never forget it.