Bush Visits Iraq On Thanksgiving

The visit, timed to coincide with Thanksgiving, was the first trip ever by a U.S. president to Iraq. Air Force One landed in darkness at Baghdad International Airport. Security fears were heightened by an attack Saturday in which a missile struck a DHL cargo plane, forcing it to make an emergency landing at the airport with its wing aflame. Bush spend only about two hours on the ground, limiting his visit to a dinner at the airport with U.S. forces. The troops had been told that the VIP guests would be Paul Bremer, the U.S. administrator in Iraq, and Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commander of coalition forces in Iraq. "You are defending the American people from danger, and we are grateful," Bush told 600 soldiers who were stunned and delighted by his appearance. Bush spoke with soldiers from the 1st Armored Division and the 82nd Airborne Division at an airport mess hall. "You are defeating the terrorists here in Iraq," he said, "so we dont have to face them in our own country." Terrorists are testing Americas resolve, Bush said, and "they hope we will run." "We did not charge hundreds of miles into the heart of Iraq, pay a bitter cost of casualties, defeat a ruthless dictator and liberate 25 million people only to retreat before a band of thugs and assassins," the president said, prompting a standing ovation and cheers. Wearing an exercise jacket with a 1st Armored Division patch, Bush stood in a line for food, dished out sweet potatoes and corn for Thanksgiving dinner and posed with a platter of a fresh-baked turkey. More normal celebrations went on at other U.S. bases. In downtown Baghdad, about 100 runners kicked off Thanksgiving with an early morning "camel trot" through Saddam Husseins palace complex and past bombed-out mansions and concrete blast walls topped with razor wire. The runners in the 6- and 3-mile races were mostly military personnel or members of the U.S.-led coalition running Iraq. They were split into a half-dozen groups based on age and sex. The rain-swept course wound through the avenues and alleyways of the former Republican Palace complex, which now houses the headquarters of the Coalition Provisional Authority. It is heavily fortified with high concrete walls topped with razor wire. More than 75 delivery points abroad are scheduled to receive and serve Thanksgiving and Christmas meals this year. The finish line was at a victory arch next to a wrecked building that once housed Saddams Special Republican Guard and close to the main palace from whose roof four massive busts of Saddam glowered at the runners. The winners of the races received small gold-colored cups and medals - all of them retrieved from the Iraqi Olympic Committee building, which was looted and burned during the war that ended Saddams regime. Many of the troops usually watch football games or take part in races known as "turkey trots." "Last year, I spent Thanksgiving in Austin, Texas, doing the turkey trot. I never thought Id be doing the camel trot in Baghdad this year," said Dan Senor, a spokesman for the civilian administration. He was wearing a white sweat shirt with the logo "Bush-Cheney 04" on the chest. "I miss my family and friends, but I look forward to spending Thanksgiving with my colleagues," said Beverly Corbett, a nurse from Idaho. Other U.S. units throughout Iraq were organizing races, football games and other sporting events to mark the holiday. In Saddams hometown of Tikrit, a Thanksgiving concert was also planned. A military center in Philadelphia operated by the Defense Logistics Agency is responsible for providing food rations to troops stationed in Iraq, Afghanistan and other parts of the world. Soldiers of the Army`s 1st Armored Division make a toast before a traditional Thanksgiving lunch at their base in eastern Baghdad. In southwest Asia alone, the shopping list this year includes about 80,000 pounds of boneless turkeys, 7,000 pounds of whole turkeys, 14,040 cans of cranberry sauce, 48,500 bags of cornbread stuffing mix, 5,200 cans of mashed potatoes and 3,000 cases of corn on the cob. Its enough to feed an army a quintessentially American meal. "Obviously, food is a big morale-builder every day of the week. When people out in the field can get a hot meal, thats something special," said Rich Faso, the centers chief of operational rations-business units. When turkey and gravy replace ordinary rations for Thanksgiving, its even more significant, he said. The Philadelphia supply facility is one of three major purchasing centers in the country, said Jack Hooper, a spokesman for the Defense Logistics Agency. The others are in Richmond, Va., and Columbus, Ohio. The center, part of the Defense Department, also distributes medical, general and industrial supplies. The food - prepared either by the food-service organizations, the military itself or private contractors - is routinely transported aboard a commercial ocean freighter and then delivered to soldiers via truck, Faso said. Posted by Mike Hellgren