Thanks for the thread, Chief! What a wonderful Thanksgiving memory for those troops.
Appreciate it if you could let us know how this plays out with the Iraqi's over the next day or so once word gets around if you can.
Some quotes from Bush's speech:
"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," Bush told about 600 soldiers, who were stunned to see the president emerge from a side door inside a military mess hall at Baghdad International Airport.
Without hinting of the enormous surprise to come, Iraq's U.S. civil administrator Paul Bremer told the soldiers he was supposed to read the president's Thanksgiving proclamation to them but would instead defer to the most senior person on the premises.
At that point, Bush emerged wearing a military jacket and loud cheering began.
"I was just looking for a warm meal somewhere," Bush said. "Thanks for inviting me to dinner ... I can't think of a finer group of folks to have Thanksgiving dinner with than you all."
"You are engaged in a difficult mission. Those who attack our coalition forces and kill innocent Iraqis are testing our will. They hope we will run," he said.
"We did not charge hundreds of miles through 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 U.S. president said to a standing ovation.
"We will prevail. We will win because our cause is just. We will win because we will stay on the offensive," Bush declared.
Afterward Bush shook hands with soldiers, all of them wearing desert fatigues and took a place in the chow line and helped serve them plates of food.
Bush also met with four members of the Iraqi Governing Council, the U.S.-appointed group that has struggled to return normal life to Iraqis and is drawing up plans for free elections and a constitution.
http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Breaking&storyId=801990&tw=wn_wire_story