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Bush Sees Progress in Quick Visit to Iraq

President Bush rides in the cockpit of Air Force One on the final approach before landing in Baghdad.
Eric Draper
/
White House via Getty Images
President Bush rides in the cockpit of Air Force One on the final approach before landing in Baghdad.

President Bush makes a surprise visit to Baghdad to visit Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The president told the new leader that the future of Iraq is in its citizens' hands, and that it's in the interest of the United States that the mission in Iraq succeeds.

Meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his Cabinet, President Bush threw his full support behind the newly formed government.

After traveling more than 6,000 miles, the president stayed in Iraq for less than six hours. The visit to Baghdad today caught almost everyone by surprise, including Maliki, who reportedly got just a few minutes' notice that President Bush would be in the Green Zone.

In addition to the political meetings, the president spoke to an audience of U.S. troops; he thanked them for their service and sacrifices in Iraq.

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David Greene is an award-winning journalist and New York Times best-selling author. He is a host of NPR's Morning Edition, the most listened-to radio news program in the United States, and also of NPR's popular morning news podcast, Up First.