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<p>In a surprise visit to Afghanistan on Saturday, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France said France might increase its troop presence in the country to help defeat the Taliban-led insurgency.</p> <p>“There is a war going on here — a war against terrorism, against fanaticism, that we cannot and will not lose,” he told reporters who accompanied him on the trip.</p>

AUSTRALIA will contribute a further $110 million to rebuilding Afghanistan and is in the country for the long haul, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has said. Mr Rudd made an unannounced visit to the strife-torn country, visiting Australian troops serving in the southern province of Oruzgan before flying into Kabul for meetings with President Hamid Karzai and NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) commander, US General Dan McNeill. Mr Rudd announced more funding for rebuilding the country - taking the total to about $270 million - and urged NATO countries to pledge more troops for the battle against a resurgent Taliban....

via translation - Unannounced visit of President french Nicolas Sarkozy in Kabul The french president Nicolas Sarkozy arrived in Kabul for a five-hour visit to Afghanistan. He will meet french soldiers deployed in Afghanistan and President Hamid Karzai. The presidential aircraft landed at Kabul international airport at around 10:00 local (06h30 Swiss). The head of state is accompanied by french Defence Minister Herve Morin and the Secretary of State for Human Rights Rama Yade. The former minister Jean-Francois Poncet and the philosopher Andre Glucksman is also the journey. Bernard Kouchner, arrived from India, the president was waiting at the airport...

KIRKUK, Iraq — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made an unannounced visit Tuesday to the city that Iraq's Kurds call their Jerusalem, an oil-rich territory claimed by many where the United States says it sees new signs of cooperation and progress. Rice was seeing members of a civilian-military reconstruction unit based in Kirkuk and meeting provincial politicians of all stripes. She was seeing Iraq's central leadership later in Baghdad. Such reconstruction units were expanded along with the escalation of U.S. forces President Bush ordered this year. Sunni Arabs ended a yearlong political boycott earlier this month in Kirkuk — the...

Excerpt - MOSUL, Iraq (AP) — Defense Secretary Robert Gates made an unannounced visit to Iraq on Wednesday to assess the progress that has been made in recent months since the buildup of U.S. forces began to take hold and reduce violence in some parts of the country. Making his sixth trip to the battlefront in a year, Gates planned to talk to Gen. David Petraeus, the top military commander in Iraq, and also meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. ~ snip ~

WASHINGTON, Sept. 8, 2007 – Coalition and Iraqi forces have reduced violence and driven al Qaeda out of strongholds in Iraq’s Anbar province, President Bush said today during his first radio address since his surprise visit there earlier this week to visit troops and assess progress. “Success in Anbar is critical to the democratic future of Iraq and to the war on terror,” Bush said, as he described the significance of the province that spans nearly a third of the country and until recently served as al Qaeda’s main headquarters for operations throughout Iraq. The president commended the local...

Click link for video - Special thanks to Youtube user Firejack007: The Commander-in-Chief along with the Secretary of Defense, Secretary of State, and many high ranking generals, gave a speech to the troops in a surprise visit to Iraq. The sound is somewhat distorted by some of the applause and cheers from the troops in the audience. I also added a very fitting piece from LOTR.

AL-ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq -- With Democratic leaders returning to Washington today to begin a new assault on his Iraq strategy, President Bush launched a sneak attack on Monday. Making a surprise trip to Iraq, he touted progress in al-Anbar province as a sign that his military surge is working. And, he hinted that he might be able to withdraw some troops if the security gains continue. "When we begin to draw down troops from Iraq, it will be from a position of strength and success, not from a position of fear and failure," Bush told several hundred Marines assembled...

The President and the first lady spent the weekend in Washington attending church on Sunday. On Sunday night the President left Washington in order to make a visit in Iraq on his way to Australia for the APEC Summit. The President is accompanied on this trip by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates Apologies for the dose being late but there were so many photos to sort and then I had a accident in the kitchen and ended up with gravy and cream all over the floor which needed clearing up. Enjoy your visit to Sanity...

In case you missed it, here is the full video...

President Bush’s Labor Day visit to Iraq should have surprised no one who was paying attention. At such a critical point in the debate over Iraq policy, it was almost inconceivable that he would fly to and from Australia without stopping in Iraq. What was surprising was the precise location and nature of the visit. Instead of flying into Baghdad and surrounding himself with his generals and the Iraqi government, Bush flew to al Asad airfield, west of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar Province. He brought with him his secretaries of State and Defense, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs...

White House press corps pool report from President Bush's unannounced trip to Iraq. POTUS visits Iraq’s al Anbar Province In a trip shrouded in secrecy, President Bush made a surprise visit to Iraq’s al Asad Air Base Monday. The base is in the heart of al Anbar Province, which Bush has often pointed to as an example of the success of his troop surge in creating space for grassroots political reconciliation. At the huge, isolated, Saddam-era base — which has a 21-kilometer perimeter and is home to some 10,000 U.S. troops — Bush was to meet with Gen. David Petraeus,...

AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq, Sept. 3, 2007 – President Bush said here today that if reported successes continue in Iraq it will eventually be possible to maintain the same level of security with fewer troops. Flanked by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the president spoke to reporters for a few minutes following meetings with top military and political leaders in the country. He stopped short of stating when troop sizes could be drawn down in the region. “General (David H.) Petraeus and Ambassador (Ryan C.) Crocker tell me if the kind of success...

AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq, Sept. 3, 2007 – Local tribes siding with coalition forces to repel al Qaeda must be incorporated into Iraq’s central government and its security forces, a senior Defense Department official said. The official spoke to reporters on background while traveling to Iraq with Defense Department Secretary Robert M. Gates. Gates joined President Bush and other top U.S. officials in a surprise meeting here today. It is likely the president’s last meeting with all key leaders before deciding the course of U.S. involvement in Iraq. The official told reporters in flight than an “awakening” of tribal...

AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq, Sept. 3, 2007 – President Bush surprised servicemembers with a visit to this base in Iraq’s Anbar province today. The unmistakable blue and white coloring of Air Force One swooped in over the base and landed. Marines guarding the area where the day's meeting would be held looked and said, "This meeting just got a whole lot more important." The servicemembers based here only knew about the Secdef and Chairman coming in. As the plane unloaded, dust devils stirred the air. The temperature in pegged at 115. Servicemembers all over the base are sweltering in...

Al ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq, Sept. 3, 2007 – President Bush has assembled his “war council” here in a surprise holiday weekend-meeting, at this remote airbase, in what is probably the group’s last meeting before the president makes his decision on next steps for U.S. involvement in the war. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy Adm. William Fallon, commander of U.S. Central Command, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of Multinational Force Iraq, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker are all slated to meet with...

This was a good move on the part of the President. “BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — President Bush made a surprise visit to Iraq Monday, saying fewer U.S. forces may be able to maintain security there.“Gen. [David] Petraeus and Ambassador [Ryan] Crocker tell me if the kind of success we’re now seeing continues, it will be possible to maintain the same level of security with fewer American forces,” Bush said during remarks at Al Asad Air Base in Anbar province.Bush ordered an increase of about 30,000 U.S. forces in Iraq earlier this year and the White House is due to deliver...

Bush Visits Iraq, Lefties Go Nuts Mon, Sep 3, 2007 at 9:53:46 am PST On his way to Australia for the APEC economic summit, President Bush made a surprise stop-over in Iraq. And the “progressive” bloggers are freaking out, of course. UPDATE at 9/3/07 10:07:47 am: Daily Kos: How dare Dubya smile while in Iraq? newsvine | reddit | del.icio.us | | email this article 296 comments