World News 28-11-2003 Bush`s Secret Destination who: George W Bush what: Makes surprise trip to warzone where: Baghdad, Iraq when: Yesterday snippet: "From Texas to Washington to Baghdad, intense secrecy was the trademark of President George Bush`s unannounced Thanksgiving Day visit to Iraq yesterday," says The Scotsman. "Secret Service agents guarding his Texas ranch were not told when the president quietly slipped away in an unmarked car." "Reporters outside his Texas ranch were telling viewers and listeners that he was about to sit down inside with his family for the traditional meal when he was already talking to troops in Iraq," says The Guardian. "Only a few members of the administration and a few selected reporters knew of the president`s trip, aimed at boosting morale among US forces." "I bring a message on behalf of America: we thank you for your service, we are proud of you and America stands solidly behind you," he told the troops as he "doled out turkey and sweet potatoes" in the Baghdad airport mess hall, reports The Times. "No American president has visited a war zone since Richard Nixon flew to Vietnam in 1969," recalls The Independent under the headline "The turkey has landed". The entire visit lasted two and a half hours "yet it was enough to secure valuable prime-time television coverage". [... more]

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