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A secret journey, a public promise

Bush makes surprise trip to Iraq, where he presses Iraqis to fight on for freedom -and vows to help them

BY CRAIG GORDON | Newsday Washington Bureau

June 14, 2006

WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush used a secret 5 1/2-hour dash to Baghdad yesterday to press Iraq's new leaders to take charge of their restive nation - but heard a fervent plea in return not to pull out U.S. troops too soon.

"They're worried almost to a person that we will leave before they're capable of defending themselves," Bush told reporters on Air Force One as he flew back to Washington. "And I assured them they didn't need to worry."

But he said he made clear to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki that continued U.S. involvement in Iraq comes with a price: tangible progress in areas such as tamping down ethnic violence and standing up a potent Iraqi government - two tasks al-Maliki's predecessors never achieved.

"In order for us to keep our commitment and be successful, they themselves have to do some hard things," the president said. "They themselves have to get some things accomplished."

Bush's secret flight to Iraq's capital capped an all-out White House blitz following the killing of Iraq's top terrorist last week to regain momentum with U.S. voters growing tired of war. He sought to balance steadfast support for Iraq's new leaders with a dash of tough love, telling al-Maliki in front of the television cameras, "The future of this country is in your hands."

In much the same way, the trip's message to an American audience sought to strike a balance, too - between showing Bush as a man of action, on the case in Iraq, while signaling he's eager to give Iraq back to the Iraqis - and someday soon.

The president's visit came at what many analysts believe is a make-or-break time in Iraq, with a new government that may be Bush's last hope to find a partner who can pacify that country enough for U.S. troops to start leaving.

Bush offered no clues about when he might consider bringing some of the 132,000 U.S. troops in Iraq home. He said top U.S. military and political officials would sit down with Iraqi leaders in the days ahead to "devise a way forward" on the security front. One senior Democrat who was briefed on the trip, Democratic Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan, said he believes Bush's trip "is likely to lead to phased redeployments this year and continuing in the next year."

Addressing cheering troops inside the heavily fortified government Green Zone, Bush said of Iraqi leaders: "Our job is to help them succeed, and we will."

"My message to the Iraqi people is this: Seize the moment, seize the opportunity to develop a government of and by and for the people," he told the troops. "I come away from here believing that the will is strong."

For his part, al-Maliki thanked Bush for U.S. protection but expressed hope that someday U.S. forces could leave. "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."

Just two weeks ago, al-Maliki had boasted that Iraqi security forces could protect all of Iraq in 18 months. It appeared al-Maliki's private discussions with the president had a much graver tone, as Bush said Iraqis are worried about a security "vacuum" if U.S. forces leave.

But if the purpose of Bush's visit was also to bolster al-Maliki's government, it might have had the unintended effect of making al-Maliki seem beholden to Bush.

For one thing, Bush committed what normally would be considered an unpardonable breach of protocol by keeping al-Maliki in the dark about his visit - until just five minutes before shaking his hand.

Al-Maliki wasn't the only one caught off guard by the presidential pop-in.

Bush had wanted to meet al-Maliki face-to-face when his government finally coalesced, which it did last week on the same day Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed.

So a tight circle of White House aides constructed an elaborate ruse to get Bush to Baghdad in secret - concocting a supposed two-day cabinet session at Camp David as the cover. Only Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice knew the real plan - to whisk Bush to Baghdad on Air Force One on Monday night.

After the first day of meetings Monday, Bush excused himself about 7:45 p.m., saying he was tired and wanted to go read a book. Instead, he boarded a helicopter to head to Air Force One and Iraq. A small pool of reporters, sworn to secrecy, was brought along. The rest of his senior aides - including the CIA director and national intelligence chief - expected to see Bush at breakfast yesterday morning. Instead, Bush was already some 6,200 miles away.

The presidential ruse

When the Iraqi government coalesced, which it did last week on the same day top terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed, President George W. Bush set on an effort to meet Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki face-to-face.