Troops delighted by president's surprise visit

President George Bush flew home today after surprising US troops in Iraq with a secret Thanksgiving Day visit to thank them for ”defending the American people from danger”.

The unannounced visit yesterday brought wild cheers from battle-worn soldiers, stunned the American nation and even surprised the president’s parents, who had been expecting him for a holiday meal at his ranch in Crawford, Texas.

The president returned to US soil early today, as his plane landed at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington shortly after midnight, before continuing on to Texas.

Mr Bush, the first US president to visit Iraq, promised that insurgents testing America’s commitment will not be rewarded with a US retreat.

“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,”

Mr Bush told about 600 soldiers from the 1st Armored Division and the 82nd Airborne.

The troops had been told only that they were gathered for Thanksgiving dinner with a VIP guest in the mess hall at Baghdad International Airport.

Paul Bremer, the US administrator in Iraq, added his own drama to the surprise. Billed as the special guest along with coalition forces commander Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, Mr Bremer opened the programme by telling the soldiers it was time to read the president’s Thanksgiving proclamation.

He asked if there was “anybody back there more senior than us” to read the president’s words. Mr Bush emerged from behind a curtain as cheering soldiers climbed on chairs and tables to yell their approval.

The president shed a few tears.

“I was just looking for a warm meal somewhere,” he joked, fresh from an 11-hour flight. “Thanks for inviting me to dinner.”

Wearing an exercise jacket, Mr Bush then worked the entire room and dished out - but did not sit down to eat – sweet potatoes and corn from the chow line.

“We thank you for your service, we’re proud of you, and America stands solidly behind you,” he said during brief remarks delivered on a day when Americans count blessings. ”You are defending the American people from danger and we are grateful.”

Later, back on the presidential plane Air Force One for the flight home to Crawford, the president said he made his decision while thinking about how hard it must be for soldiers to spend the holiday far from home and family.

“It’s got to be a lonely moment for them,” Mr Bush said. ”I thought it was important to send that message that we care for them (the troops) and we support them strongly, that we erase any doubts in their minds as to whether or not the people stand with them.

“Having seen the reaction of those troops, you know it was the right thing to do.”

With US forces in Iraq the target of regular, deadly attacks, Mr Bush has been heavily criticised for his policies, particularly from Democrats seeking to turn the issue into a political vulnerability for him in next year’s presidential election.

More than 60 US troops have been killed by hostile fire in November, more than any other month since the end of major combat in Iraq on May 1.

Since operations began, nearly 300 US service members have died of hostile action, including 183 since May 1.

The violence continued yesterday even as the president was en route to Baghdad.

Insurgents fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the Italian mission in the city, damaging the building but causing no injuries, the US military said.

A US military convoy came under attack on the main highway west of Baghdad near the town of Abu Ghraib. And in the northern city of Mosul, unidentified gunmen shot dead an Iraqi police sergeant.

Mr Bush told the soldiers their sacrifices are contributing to the safety of the United States.

“You are defeating the terrorists here in Iraq so we don’t have to face them in our own country,” he said. ”You’re defeating Saddam’s henchmen so that the people of Iraq can live in peace and freedom.”

Soldiers spoke enthusiastically about the president. “After 13 months in theatre, my morale had kind of sputtered,” said Captain Mark St. Laurent. “Now I’m good for another two months.”

During his two-and-a-half hours on the ground, Mr Bush also met four members of the Iraqi Governing Council, Baghdad’s mayor and city council, and top US commanders.