.....maybe.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/09/03/bush.iraq/index.html
Ooh-rah, Mr. President.
Ooh-rah.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/09/03/bush.iraq/index.html
President Bush made a surprise visit to Iraq Monday, saying fewer U.S. forces may be able to maintain security there at its current level.
President Bush salutes Gen. David Petraeus, left, after arriving Monday at an air base in Iraq.
"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.
"The level of violence is down, local governments are meeting again, police are in control of the city streets and normal life is returning," said Bush.
The president credited Anbar citizens who "rejected the dark vision of al Qaeda" and "organized themselves and they took on the terrorists."
"The result was that many local leaders who had once fought against our forces began to fight alongside our forces and against al Qaeda," Bush said.
"They didn't like idea of murderers deciding their fate," he said.
Later, Bush rallied U.S. troops on the base.
"Every day you show bravery under incredibly difficult circumstances," Bush told more than 600 Marines and soldiers gathered in a mess hall at the base. "I'm incredibly proud to be the commander in chief of such a great group of men and women."
The excited crowd responded to their commander-in-chief with hearty cheers and shouts of "ooh-rah!" and "hoo-ah!"
Advisers said the trip was so Bush could have face-to-face meetings with al-Maliki and local Sunni leaders in an effort to move them closer toward political reconciliation.
Ooh-rah, Mr. President.
Ooh-rah.
