Bush had his secret trip to Baghdad up his sleeve!

Bush celebrating Thanksgiving Day with soldiers in Baghdad: Boosting morale?. PHOTO: AFP

According to a news report, Mr. Bush quietly slipped away from his Texas ranch Wednesday (November 26, 2003), the day before Thanksgiving holiday and flew to Washington, where he changed planes and picked up a few staff members for the long flight (about 11 hours non-stop flight) to Baghdad, the Iraqi capital. The presidential visit was planned about six weeks ago but was tightly held due to security concern. The trip was politically motivated without any question. Mr. Bush was not the first ever president to visit the U.S. soldiers during any war or conflict. President Dwight D. Eisenhower had gone all the way to Korea in 1952 to boost the morale of the U.S. soldiers engaged in a bloody conflict. In 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson also visited the U.S. soldiers in erstwhile South Vietnam. President George H.W. Bush, the father of the present president also visited the U.S. soldiers in Saudi Arabia on Thanksgiving Day on November 29, 1990, when they were preparing for the Gulf War against Saddam's army who forcibly occupied Kuwait. President Bill Clinton also visited the U.S. troops in war-torn Bosnia in 1997.

Anytime a U.S. president visits the U.S. soldiers who are stationed in a foreign land one has to assume that the trip is politically motivated. Mr. Bush's surprise trip to Baghdad is no exception. There is a growing concern amongst the U.S. citizens concerning the occupation of Iraq in the wake of a number of ambushes in which several U.S. soldiers have died in November 2003.

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A teary-eyed Bush stunned 600 soldiers at a Thanksgiving celebration in the makeshift military base at Baghdad International Airport. Mr. Bush surprised the soldiers as he entered the stage with little warning and telling them they are "defeating the terrorists here in Iraq so we don't have to face them in our own country." He also said, "By helping the Iraqi people become free, you're helping change a troubled and violent part of the world." He also added, "By helping to build a peaceful and democratic country in the heart of the Middle East, you are defending the American people from danger, and we are grateful."

Mr. Bush's surprised trip lasted only two and a half hour. Therefore, it was short time-wise but it was long on message. The U.S. wanted to show their resolve. In a message delivered to both the U.S. troops and the Iraqi opposition, Bush acknowledged that U.S. forces are engaged in a difficult mission. He said, "Those who attack our coalition forces and kill innocent Iraqis are testing our will. They hope we will run." However, the president pledged that the United States would remain on the offensive and ultimately prevail in Iraq because according to him, "the cause is just" and he thinks that Iraqis deserve their freedom.

The news of Mr. Bush's trip to Baghdad was kept in secrecy. The stealth strategy for the visit included a dark takeoff and spiral landing by Air Force One. Because of the nature of the trip, the running lights were shut off on a night with little moonlight as it flew under a fake call sign. While the Air Force One was on Atlantic heading to the East, a commercial pilot flying a British Airways aircraft going in the opposite direction spotted the presidential plane. He tried to strike a conversation over the radio with the pilot of Air Force One asking whether it was the Air Force One. The pilot flying the presidential plane replied that the aircraft was a "Gulf Stream," meaning a smaller one. To this, the British Airways pilot just said, "Oh!"

After meeting only 600 soldiers and a handful of Iraqi civilians, included among them 24 members who are in the makeshift government, the governing council, Mr. Bush again embarked on the Air Force One. He then spoke to the news reporters accompanying him to Baghdad. He said, "It was an emotional moment to walk into that room. The energy level was beyond belief. I mean, I've been in some excited crowds before. But this place truly erupted. And I could see the first look of amazement and then look of appreciation on the kids' face."

The timing of Mr. Bush's Iraq visit could not have been better. His political strategists are now fretting over the mounting casualties the U.S. army has faced in November 2003 alone. This is due to a wave of guerilla war spreading in Iraq. Mr. Bush's political handlers once thought his handling of the war on terrorism could make his reelection bid an easy one. However, they are thinking that if the casualties and chaos increase going forward, then, that could cost him the election if the public became convinced that Mr. Bush somehow mishandled this unilateral war. His surprise visit did serve one purpose, though. By visiting Baghdad Mr. Bush is telling the world that Iraq is secure enough for him to travel there.

Bush also met with four of 24 members of the Governing Council, the handpicked body that serves as the Iraqi counterpart to the U.S.-led occupation government. In a short speech given to the 24 members of the Governing Council Mr. Bush said, "to seize the moment" to build a free nation, and he promised that the United States will stay until the job is done, an allusion to critics' charges that the newly revised U.S. exit strategy is an attempt to cut and run before the U.S. presidential election.

In summary, Mr. Bush took a calculated risk while visiting the occupation army inside Iraq. It was certainly a politically motivated trip to boost the morale of the U.S. troops stationed all over Iraq. The trip would also give a boost to his sagging popularity amongst the U.S. citizens. The trip also sends a powerful message to the enemy of present Iraqi Governing Council especially the alliance of Jihadists and Saddam loyalists who are bent on bringing chaos in post-Saddam Iraq. According to Mr. Bush, the U.S. troops would stay put in Iraq until a democratically elected government could take full charge of this war-torn nation.