President's visit stuns troops in Iraq

It was the biggest of holiday surprises. The troops were getting irritable, 300 sitting for more than an hour, waiting – for no good reason, it seemed – to get in the chow line at the Bob Hope Dining Hall at Baghdad International Airport, ready for their turkey dinners.

Finally, a visibly nervous US administrator, L Paul Bremer III, strode to the podium with Lt Gen Ricardo Sanchez, the US military commander in Iraq.

The two dispensed a few quick words. Mr Bremer then turned to Lt Gen Sanchez and said he had a Thanksgiving message from President George W Bush. Bremer said the most “senior” US official among them should be the one to read it.

Turning toward the stage backdrop, Mr Bremer asked: “Is there anyone back there who’s more senior than us?”

At that moment, President Bush strode forward in an Army tracksuit emblazoned with a 1st Armoured Division patch. The crowd shot immediately from their seats and cheered. As he surveyed the crowd, a tear dripped down the president’s cheek.

“I was just looking for a warm meal somewhere,” he said, to another cheer. “Thanks for inviting me to dinner.”

After his speech, the President waded into the crowd, shaking hands, dispensing hugs and posing for photos.

Army master sergeant Michael Johnson, of Turlock, California, thrust his hand at the president.

“It was a pleasant surprise, actually,” he said. “They had us waiting so long I started to get (mad). But it’s not so often you get to meet a president.”

President Bush served mashed potatoes in the chow line for 10 minutes and then said he had to leave. He met with National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice, Mr Bremer, Lt Gen Sanchez and four members of the Iraqi Governing Council. Then he was off.

Soldiers said they were impressed to see the commander in chief, the world’s most powerful man, flying into Baghdad just days after a cargo plane was struck by a shoulder-fired missile.

“It was a display of confidence in our ability to protect not just us, but him,” said Pfc. Telo Monahan, 20, of Woodinville, Washington. “It was just three or four days after that DHL plane got hit.”

Others said they’d been given a heartfelt boost after struggling with a difficult occupation.

“After 13 months in theatre, my morale had kind of sputtered,” said Capt Mark St. Laurent, 36, of Leesburg, Virginia. “Now I’m good for another two months.”

But other soldiers grew angry that their departure from the airport was delayed for an hour, while they waited for Air Force One to depart. Finding the door barred, about 50 troops got into a shouting match with the soldier blocking their exit. The streets of Baghdad were to dangerous to delay their departure any longer, they shouted.

Mr Bremer said he had known the visit was planned for quite a while. Few others shared the knowledge, not even some top officials on his staff.

“The surprise was terrific,” he said. “Operational security was great. It was quite an operation. We’ve been working on it for months.”