President Bush says that his surprise visit to Baghdad yesterday was a gesture of support for Iraq's new government. In fact, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Iraqi parliamentarians seem to have been pleased by the President's unexpected arrival.
At the risk of being a killjoy, though, I think we need to consider two negative messages that are implicit in this bizarre outing: 1) Iraq is such a dangerous place that the Bush visit had to be kept secret even from the Iraqi government; 2) Iraqis do not control their national territory.
"Surprise Visit Follows Months of Planning," by David Johnson and Richard Benedetto - USA Today, 14 June 2006
President Bush, known for going to bed early, retired especially early Monday night.
After a long day of Iraq meetings at Camp David, Bush told Cabinet members and other aides around 7:45 p.m. that he was "losing altitude" and headed off for a little reading before bedtime.
Instead, he ducked out of the presidential retreat in the Catoctin Mountains and boarded a helicopter for the roughly 60-mile trip to Andrews Air Force Base in suburban Maryland.
By 9:07 p.m., Bush was aboard Air Force One, and the jet was airborne, bound for Iraq.
Less than a dozen hours later, as cameras whirred and flashed, Bush strolled into an ornate ceremonial room in Baghdad to shake hands with new Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
The two leaders met at the seat of the Iraqi government, the domed Republican Presidential Palace, once the main office of Saddam Hussein....
The visit came on what had been scheduled to be the second day of a two-day Iraq summit at Camp David.
Tuesday's agenda called for a meeting with al-Maliki and members of the Iraqi Cabinet - via teleconference.
Instead, Bush flew to Iraq with counselor Dan Bartlett and a select retinue, including national security adviser Stephen Hadley, chief of staff Joshua Bolten, spokesman Tony Snow, several Secret Service agents and a small pool of reporters. Bush was heading back late Tuesday.
The planning took place over the past month. Bush has been wanting to return to Baghdad to visit the new prime minister, Bartlett said. He was waiting for the new government to fill the positions of Defense, Interior and National Security ministers.
That happened last week, about the same time an airstrike killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leader of the terrorist organization al-Qaeda in Iraq.
Bartlett said many of Bush's closest aides did not know about the secret trip.
"Obviously, when you're entering into a situation where the enemy is so active, we have to be extra cautious," he said.
Those in the dark included Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman and Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns, who were at Camp David and learned about the president's trip Tuesday.
Those in the know included Vice President Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. They stayed behind.
Members of the Iraqi government also didn't know about the Bush visit. They had gathered in Baghdad for the expected videoconference....
"Bush Tells Iraq Leader U.S. Will Back Him," by Terence Hunt, AP White House Correspondent (in Baghdad) - AP, 14 June 2006
BAGHDAD, Iraq - President Bush told Iraq's new leader in a surprise face-to-face visit on Tuesday that the fate of his war-scarred country was in Iraq's own hands. Bush was pressed in turn not to withdraw U.S. troops too quickly.
"There's a worry almost to a person that we will leave before they are capable of defending themselves," Bush said as he flew back to the United States after his lightning, long-distance trip to meet with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
Bush spent over 5 1/2 hours in Baghdad in his second visit of the three-year war, both kept secret until he had safely arrived....
[Iraqi Prime Minister] Al-Maliki himself did not know the president was in Baghdad until five minutes before they met in the blue-domed palace once used by Saddam Hussein but which now houses part of the U.S. Embassy in the heavily fortified Green Zone.
The Iraqi prime minister had come to the embassy expecting to participate in a satellite video conference with Bush and aides from the presidential mountain retreat in Maryland.
Instead, Bush sat beside him. The video conference went on as scheduled with the U.S. officials still at Camp David.
"I've come to not only look you in the eye. I've also come to tell you that when America gives its word, it keeps its word — that it's in our interest that Iraq succeed," Bush told al-Maliki.
Bush didn't say whether he and the prime minister had discussed the timing or scope of a possible U.S. military withdrawal. There are now about 130,000 U.S. troops in the country and Bush faces increasing pressure at home to begin bringing many of them home.
Al-Maliki, speaking in Arabic, thanked Bush for U.S. protection, but expressed a general hope for the day when American troops would be gone.
"God willing, all of the suffering will be over, and all of the soldiers will be able to return to their countries with our gratitude for what they have offered," al-Maliki said....
Also see:
"Many Iraqis Dismiss Bush Visit as Stunt," by Patrick Quinn - AP (Baghdad), 13 June 2006 - as carried by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Many Sunnis and even some Shiite political parties dismissed President Bush's visit to Baghdad on Tuesday as merely an attempt to associate himself with positive developments in Iraq - formation of the new government and last week's killing of the country's most feared terrorist.
Bush's trip comes at a pivotal time for new Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as he tries to convince Iraqis the country can stand on its own and end violence if they unite behind him. But instead of bolstering that effort, the visit could push away the very Sunni Arabs whom al-Maliki is trying to court.
Some Sunnis think the success of the Bush visit can be gauged only on al-Maliki's ability to persuade the U.S. president to start pulling some of the 130,000 American troops from the country.
"We hope that al-Maliki persuades Bush to announce a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. forces, otherwise the visit is of no relevance to Iraqis," said Zafer al-Ani, spokesman for the Iraqi Accordance Front, the main Sunni Arab partner in al-Maliki's government.
The anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr planned a demonstration for Wednesday to protest Bush's presence in the country.
"This visit carries a lot of meanings, but this visit means nothing to the Iraqi street. There will never be any benefits from such a visit and the only one to benefit from this visit is Bush himself and his troops here, not the Iraqi people," said Hassan al-Robaie, a lawmaker loyal to al-Sadr.
Baghdad University political science professor Nabil Mohammed Selim said the president's trip was a bid to show the world that he has achieved something in this country, including the killing last week of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq. Bush's political standing in the United States portends a difficult election for fellow Republicans in November's congressional elections.
"In fact, nothing has been achieved in Iraq, hundreds of innocent Iraqis are being killed daily because of the chaos," Selim said....
But al-Maliki's political future may be bleak if he fails to convince Sunnis he is not a Washington puppet and truly wants to disarm Shiite militias and death squads blamed for hundreds of killings.
"Not All Visitors Are Always Welcome" (editorial) - the Gulf News (UAE), 15 June 2006
Allegedly, when US President George W. Bush visited Iraq for five hours on Tuesday, he gave the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki five minutes notice of his impending arrival. Bush's cohorts claim it was for security reasons, something that cannot be denied as necessary since the nation is still in a state of flux over the law and order situation. Yet the tardy notification of Bush's arrival can also be interpreted in other ways.
For example, had Al Maliki received advance warning of Bush coming to Iraq, did the Americans fear he might ask the president not to come at this time as it would be inappropriate? Al Maliki has only just taken over as prime minister and will be anxious to demonstrate to all Iraqis, if not the world in general and the Americans in particular, that he is his own man....
With Bush grandstanding, likely for the benefit of American domestic politics than any "eyeball-to-eyeball" assessment as claimed, the Iraq government could be inferred as taking instructions from the US again.
Another issue that can be interpreted from the late notice to Al Maliki of Bush's arrival is that he, or his cohorts, does not trust the Iraqi prime minister with such sensitive information, fearing a leak and possible attack upon Bush's aircraft.
If that is so, then that also undermines any authority of the new Iraq prime minister. Bush's Iraq visit may have done much to boost his popularity at home, but will have done nothing to reassure Iraqis of the independence of their new government.
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