Critics are saying that in order to duplicate the success in Al Anbar, many more troops are needed to "secure and hold" and that it is just not feasible. President Bush contradicts that statement as well as lifts morale at Al Asad Air Base...
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/09/...raq/index.html
AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq (CNN) -- President Bush made a surprise visit to Iraq Monday, saying fewer U.S. forces may be able to maintain security there at its current level.
President Bush salutes Gen. David Petraeus, left, after arriving Monday at an air base in Iraq.
1 of 2 "Gen. [David] Petraeus and Ambassador [Ryan] Crocker tell me if the kind of success we're now seeing continues, it will be possible to maintain the same level of security with fewer American forces," Bush said during remarks at Al Asad Air Base in Anbar province.
Bush ordered an increase of about 30,000 U.S. forces in Iraq earlier this year and the White House is due to deliver a report on the strategy to Congress by September 15.
"People shouldn't jump to conclusions until the general and the ambassador report," Bush said.
Bush hailed Anbar as a success, citing the U.S. military's alliance with tribal leaders in fighting al Qaeda in Iraq.
Bush met with local tribal leaders who he credited with helping to end bloodshed.
"The level of violence is down, local governments are meeting again, police are in control of the city streets and normal life is returning," said Bush.
The president credited Anbar citizens who "rejected the dark vision of al Qaeda" and "organized themselves and they took on the terrorists."
"The result was that many local leaders who had once fought against our forces began to fight alongside our forces and against al Qaeda," Bush said.
"They didn't like idea of murderers deciding their fate," he said.
Later, Bush rallied U.S. troops on the base.
"Every day you show bravery under incredibly difficult circumstances," Bush told more than 600 Marines and soldiers gathered in a mess hall at the base. "I'm incredibly proud to be the commander in chief of such a great group of men and women."
The excited crowd responded to their commander-in-chief with hearty cheers and shouts of "ooh-rah!" and "hoo-ah!"
Bush met earlier with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and planned to break bread with U.S. troops on the base.
Earlier, Air Force One touched down under a blazing sun for the six-hour visit.
After exiting the aircraft, Petraeus, the top war commander, and others welcomed Bush with smiles, salutes and handshakes in the 115- degree heat. Watch commanders welcome Bush »
The White House denied the trip was a publicity visit ahead of a report about U.S. troop increases in Iraq to be delivered by Petraeus next week in Washington.
Advisers said the trip was so Bush could have face-to-face meetings with al-Maliki and local Sunni leaders in an effort to move them closer toward political reconciliation.
Some U.S. lawmakers have criticized al-Maliki's Shiite-led government for not reconciling with Sunni groups, but Bush has stood by the Iraqi leader and fended off calls for his resignation.
Bush's visit to Iraq "will not change the debate in Washington at all," a Democratic leadership aide told CNN on Monday. Many members of Congress traveled to Iraq themselves in August. Those trips and reports "about the lack of political progress in Iraq mean much more than a surprise visit by the president," the aide said.
After commanders greeted the president on the tarmac, Bush posed for pictures before being driven in a motorcade to a concrete building on base where a Marine gave him a short briefing with about 20 other troops in fatigues.
"Morale? How is morale?" asked Bush.
"Very high, sir," said the unidentified Marine.
The president is scheduled to make remarks from the base at about 12:30 ET.
Far to the south in the Iraqi city of Basra, 500 remaining British troops completed a pullout Monday, a move that Britain said did not represent a major policy shift but a long-planned handover to Iraqi forces.
Monday's visit is Bush's first trip to Iraq outside of Baghdad. The president also traveled to Iraq in 2003 and 2006.
Al Asad Air Base dates to the 1970s, when it was used by Iraqi forces loyal to Saddam Hussein. It houses about 10,000 U.S. troops, mostly Marines. The facility was captured in April 2003 by Australian special forces. See map showing location of base »
Measuring about 17 miles in circumference, the base is located not far from the Euphrates River between Baghdad and the Syrian border, where the Bush administration has said many foreign fighters have crossed into Iraq.
The president stopped in Iraq en route to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Sydney, Australia.
Bush is accompanied on the Iraq visit by Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, the newly appointed White House official responsible for coordinating Iraq issues.
Also joining Bush on the Iraq visit are U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, national security adviser Stephen Hadley, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Peter Pace.
The president was spirited out of the White House late Sunday and driven to Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland.
Instead of the usual presidential motorcade, only one other car accompanied Bush's limousine from the executive mansion to Andrews in an effort to maintain the subterfuge.
Sixteen hours before he was scheduled to leave for the Asia summit, Bush boarded Air Force One as it sat in a hanger and the aircraft departed after dark.
White House press secretary Tony Snow said a false schedule released for the news media on Monday was part of the security plan for the trip.
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