Bulsajo
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
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 Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 4:11 pm Post subject: Bush in Bagdad |
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Bush pays a visit to Iraq
By John F. Burns and Dexter Filkins The New York Times
Published: June 13, 2006
BAGHDAD President George W. Bush made a surprise visit to Baghdad on Tuesday and held direct talks with Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, offering a dramatic show of support to the new government while driving home that the country's future lay in Iraqi hands.
Bush's unannounced trip to Baghdad, kept secret from some of his aides as well as Maliki himself, followed the killing last week of the most-wanted terrorist in the country, Abu Musab al- Zarqawi, and the completion of Maliki's government on the same day.
Arriving here under extraordinary security, Bush signaled that he had come to Baghdad to shore up Maliki's new government and to indicate that the Americans were preparing to reduce their role, with the brutal war now well into its fourth year.
Bush and Maliki shook hands in front of a large crowd in the rotunda of the Republican Presidential Palace, then walked together into a meeting of the Iraqi cabinet. The president's visit was scheduled to last a mere five hours, with Bush safely out of the country just after 9 p.m. local time.
Seated at a polished oval table in front of the Iraqi and American flags, Bush congratulated Maliki on the formation of his cabinet, saying he was "impressed" with the lineup.
"I have expressed our country's desire to work with you, but I appreciate you recognize the fact that the future of your country is in your hands," said Bush, speaking in what used to be the office of Paul Bremer, the chief American administrator in the first year following the ouster of Saddam Hussein's regime.
"I have come to not only look you in the eye, I have also come to tell you that when America gives its word, it will keep its word," Bush said.
Bush's visit came as more than 75,000 Iraqi and American troops and police forces prepared to fan out across Baghdad in what is supposed to be a stepped-up effort to bring order to the capital. (Page 7)
Maliki and most of his cabinet ministers took office in May, more than five months after nationwide elections were held in December. But it was only last week, on the day that Zarqawi was killed, that Maliki was able to fill the three critical ministries of defense, interior and national security. Aides to Bush said he had wanted to visit Maliki earlier, but wanted to wait until his entire cabinet was in place.
Maliki heads a Shiite-dominated government that has tried to bring representatives of Iraq's other main groups, Sunni and Kurd, into his cabinet. His government is the first to be approved by a Parliament elected to a four-year- term since the American invasion.
The Bush administration has high hopes that Maliki's government will be able to take charge of Iraq in a way that previous governments, with their limited terms and uncertain mandates, could not.
People close to Bush say that the formation of Maliki's government, coupled with the killing of Zarqawi, makes the past week a significant point of departure, from which a new American approach might proceed. So Bush was here, in a way, to wish Maliki well, and, in a polite way, to give him a little nudge.
Iraqi officials said Tuesday that the security operation in Baghdad, which was to be launched at dawn Wednesday, would be the biggest of its kind since the U.S. government restored Iraqi sovereignty in June 2004. Dozens of raids, roadblocks, neighborhood sweeps, and even airstrikes were in the works, officials said.
Still, it is not clear how the plan would differ from previous ones. There are already about 75,000 Iraq and Americans troops and police officers patrolling the city.
Baghdad has slipped close to anarchy in recent months, with violent crime, kidnappings and revenge killings combining with militia and insurgent attacks to render every neighborhood in the capital virtually lawless.
"The raids during this plan will be very tough," Maliki said in a statement Tuesday.
Bush's visit is his first trip to Iraq since November 2003, when he joined American troops for Thanksgiving dinner. The latest visit was planned with extraordinary secrecy and security, and there was little explanation needed for that: The president was flying into a war zone.
He left Andrews Air Force Base shortly after 9 p.m. Monday, after traveling by helicopter from Camp David, where he had overseen, with his senior advisors and military officials, a two- day strategy session on Iraq. He was accompanied by his national security adviser, Stephen Hadley; his chief of staff, Josh Bolten; a senior counselor, Dan Bartlett; his deputy chief of staff, Joe Hagan; and his spokesman, Tony Snow.
Bush's landing at Baghdad's airport, which had been closed for an hour ahead of time, was marked by the spiraling, steep descent used by many commercial aircraft, a maneuver intended to make the aircraft less susceptible to machine gun and anti-aircraft fire.
Once on the ground, the president hopped abroad a Nighthawk helicopter to make the six-minute flight to the Green Zone.
Along the way, the landmarks of Iraq's violent present and tortured past came into view: the smoke rising from the power plant in the insurgent stronghold of Dora in southern Baghdad; the former Baath Party headquarters where Saddam Hussein and his associates are now standing trial.
Entering the Presidential Palace, Bush strode in to greet Maliki. The American ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad, and the top American military commander in Iraq, General George Casey, stood by.
As Bush approached, Maliki, usually the dourest of men, broke into a wide and radiant smile.
"Good to see you," Maliki said, grasping Bush's hand.
"Thank you for having me," Bush said.
Then the two heads of state walked together into the conference room, where they stayed for more than an hour.
Extraordinary security was evident across the Green Zone. American forces were arrayed across the area in armored combat vehicles.
Bartlett, the president's director of communications, told reporters aboard Air Force One that the trip had been planned over the past month by a small group of six White House aides he described as a "very, very close circle of people."
Even the Iraqi government was kept unaware of the visit until the last moment. It had been announced that Maliki and his cabinet and Bush, along with his top advisers at Camp David, had planned to hold a joint cabinet meeting Tuesday via a video link.
The Iraqi ministers had been asked to gather Tuesday morning for the teleconference at the American Embassy. Maliki was told by American officials that the president was in Baghdad only after Bush's helicopter had landed in a secure airfield inside the Green Zone.
BAGHDAD President George W. Bush made a surprise visit to Baghdad on Tuesday and held direct talks with Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, offering a dramatic show of support to the new government while driving home that the country's future lay in Iraqi hands.
Bush's unannounced trip to Baghdad, kept secret from some of his aides as well as Maliki himself, followed the killing last week of the most-wanted terrorist in the country, Abu Musab al- Zarqawi, and the completion of Maliki's government on the same day.
Arriving here under extraordinary security, Bush signaled that he had come to Baghdad to shore up Maliki's new government and to indicate that the Americans were preparing to reduce their role, with the brutal war now well into its fourth year.
Bush and Maliki shook hands in front of a large crowd in the rotunda of the Republican Presidential Palace, then walked together into a meeting of the Iraqi cabinet. The president's visit was scheduled to last a mere five hours, with Bush safely out of the country just after 9 p.m. local time.
Seated at a polished oval table in front of the Iraqi and American flags, Bush congratulated Maliki on the formation of his cabinet, saying he was "impressed" with the lineup.
"I have expressed our country's desire to work with you, but I appreciate you recognize the fact that the future of your country is in your hands," said Bush, speaking in what used to be the office of Paul Bremer, the chief American administrator in the first year following the ouster of Saddam Hussein's regime.
"I have come to not only look you in the eye, I have also come to tell you that when America gives its word, it will keep its word," Bush said.
Bush's visit came as more than 75,000 Iraqi and American troops and police forces prepared to fan out across Baghdad in what is supposed to be a stepped-up effort to bring order to the capital. (Page 7)
Maliki and most of his cabinet ministers took office in May, more than five months after nationwide elections were held in December. But it was only last week, on the day that Zarqawi was killed, that Maliki was able to fill the three critical ministries of defense, interior and national security. Aides to Bush said he had wanted to visit Maliki earlier, but wanted to wait until his entire cabinet was in place.
Maliki heads a Shiite-dominated government that has tried to bring representatives of Iraq's other main groups, Sunni and Kurd, into his cabinet. His government is the first to be approved by a Parliament elected to a four-year- term since the American invasion.
The Bush administration has high hopes that Maliki's government will be able to take charge of Iraq in a way that previous governments, with their limited terms and uncertain mandates, could not.
People close to Bush say that the formation of Maliki's government, coupled with the killing of Zarqawi, makes the past week a significant point of departure, from which a new American approach might proceed. So Bush was here, in a way, to wish Maliki well, and, in a polite way, to give him a little nudge.
Iraqi officials said Tuesday that the security operation in Baghdad, which was to be launched at dawn Wednesday, would be the biggest of its kind since the U.S. government restored Iraqi sovereignty in June 2004. Dozens of raids, roadblocks, neighborhood sweeps, and even airstrikes were in the works, officials said.
Still, it is not clear how the plan would differ from previous ones. There are already about 75,000 Iraq and Americans troops and police officers patrolling the city.
Baghdad has slipped close to anarchy in recent months, with violent crime, kidnappings and revenge killings combining with militia and insurgent attacks to render every neighborhood in the capital virtually lawless.
"The raids during this plan will be very tough," Maliki said in a statement Tuesday.
Bush's visit is his first trip to Iraq since November 2003, when he joined American troops for Thanksgiving dinner. The latest visit was planned with extraordinary secrecy and security, and there was little explanation needed for that: The president was flying into a war zone.
He left Andrews Air Force Base shortly after 9 p.m. Monday, after traveling by helicopter from Camp David, where he had overseen, with his senior advisors and military officials, a two- day strategy session on Iraq. He was accompanied by his national security adviser, Stephen Hadley; his chief of staff, Josh Bolten; a senior counselor, Dan Bartlett; his deputy chief of staff, Joe Hagan; and his spokesman, Tony Snow.
Bush's landing at Baghdad's airport, which had been closed for an hour ahead of time, was marked by the spiraling, steep descent used by many commercial aircraft, a maneuver intended to make the aircraft less susceptible to machine gun and anti-aircraft fire.
Once on the ground, the president hopped abroad a Nighthawk helicopter to make the six-minute flight to the Green Zone.
Along the way, the landmarks of Iraq's violent present and tortured past came into view: the smoke rising from the power plant in the insurgent stronghold of Dora in southern Baghdad; the former Baath Party headquarters where Saddam Hussein and his associates are now standing trial.
Entering the Presidential Palace, Bush strode in to greet Maliki. The American ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad, and the top American military commander in Iraq, General George Casey, stood by.
As Bush approached, Maliki, usually the dourest of men, broke into a wide and radiant smile.
"Good to see you," Maliki said, grasping Bush's hand.
"Thank you for having me," Bush said.
Then the two heads of state walked together into the conference room, where they stayed for more than an hour.
Extraordinary security was evident across the Green Zone. American forces were arrayed across the area in armored combat vehicles.
Bartlett, the president's director of communications, told reporters aboard Air Force One that the trip had been planned over the past month by a small group of six White House aides he described as a "very, very close circle of people."
Even the Iraqi government was kept unaware of the visit until the last moment. It had been announced that Maliki and his cabinet and Bush, along with his top advisers at Camp David, had planned to hold a joint cabinet meeting Tuesday via a video link.
The Iraqi ministers had been asked to gather Tuesday morning for the teleconference at the American Embassy. Maliki was told by American officials that the president was in Baghdad only after Bush's helicopter had landed in a secure airfield inside the Green Zone. |
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