Holiday Visit

I wish somebody could provide some cost-accounting for President Bush's "surprise" visit to Iraq today. A massive photo-op with a meeting with Maliki tossed in to justify it. I'm going to avoid the TV and focus on the grill for the rest of the day, I think.

Bush makes surprise visit to Iraq.

“President Bush made a surprise visit to Iraq on Monday, using the war zone as a backdrop to argue his case that the buildup of U.S. troops is helping stabilizing the nation.” On his way to the APEC summit in Australia, Bush made a detour to Iraq, landing at an air base in a remote [...]

Bush is in Iraq: A "dramatic and secretive visit" using the standard Bush campaign playbook

...Note from AJ: Just in case there's anybody who still doesn't understand this code, "surprise visit" is simply a euphemism for "it's so dangerous we couldn't tell anybody about the trip in advance because the whole group might have been killed if we did." This has been [...]

And, from the Right, this assessment:

President Bush in Anbar Province

The news story: AL-ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq - President Bush and his national security team made a first-hand assessment of the war in Iraq and prospects for political reconciliation Monday as a showdown nears with Congress over the U.S. troop [...]

Tags: Surprise Visit to Iraq, President Bush