Excellent. I hope that gives our troops there a nice moral boost: that Dubya feels it's secure enough, thanks to their hardwork, to visit the country.
WaPo - President Bush arrived in Baghdad today for a face-to-face meeting with new Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki -- an effort, the White House said, to get a clear sense of the premier's priorities and how the U.S. government could help his government succeed.
The White House originally had said Bush was scheduled to be at Camp David and to hold a video-conference with Maliki this morning. Instead, without telling the Iraqi government or all but his closest advisers, the president slipped out of Washington last night and made the 11-hour trip to Baghdad International Airport, landing at 4:08 p.m. Baghdad time (8:08 a.m. EDT). |
 And after some chit chat ("Hey, I'm George, nice to meet you, Malikalikimaka... Isn't there a song about that? Damn it's hot here...) they get down to some real talkin'.
"I have come to not only look you in the eye; I've also come to tell you that when America gives its word, it will keep its word.
And it's in our interests that Iraq succeed. . . . And when Iraq succeeds in having a government of and for and by the people of Iraq, you will have dealt a serious blow to those who have a vision of darkness, who don't believe in liberty, who are willing to kill the innocent in order to achieve a political objective." And Maliki replies with just as much passion for his country's success, not to mention a little gratitude...
"God willing, all the suffering will be over. And all the soldiers will return to their country with our gratitude for what they have offered, the sacrifice." Now of course the left is going to get all squirrelly and start spouting off about political stunts, etc. I'm sure some of the crazies over at the DU have already started praying for an IED, but fortunately for the world we're going to continue to help the Iraqis kill terrorists. For their future and ours. |
