Rice: 'It was a very important thing to do'
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Condoleezza Rice
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CNN's Nic Robertson on the reactions of Iraqis to the Bush visit.
CNN's Bill Hemmer talks with U.S. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice about Bush's Thanksgiving trip.
CNN's Barbara Starr on a dog rescured by U.S. Marines in Baghdad.
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SPECIAL REPORT
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| PAST PRESIDENTIAL TRIPS TO WAR ZONES |
• 1952: Dwight David Eisenhower, then president-elect, visited Korea.
• 1966 and 1967: President Lyndon Johnson made two wartime trips to troops in Vietnam.
• 1969: President Richard Nixon visited troops in Vietnam.
• 1990: President George H.W. Bush visited U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia on Thanksgiving Day in the run-up to the Gulf War.
• 1999: President Bill Clinton addressed Kosovar refugees and NATO military personnel in Macedonia, two weeks after NATO airstrikes in Kosovo.
• 2003: President Bush pays a Thanksgiving Day visit to U.S. troops in Baghdad.
Source: The Associated Press
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CRAWFORD, Texas (CNN) -- President Bush returned to Texas Friday after a surprise Thanksgiving visit to Baghdad. He was there for about two hours on the ground and spoke with members of the Iraqi Governing Council, got an update on the war from U.S. commanders, and thanked about 600 troops for their service in Baghdad.
National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice accompanied the president on that trip to Baghdad. She's back in Crawford, Texas, and discussed the trip with CNN's Bill Hemmer.
HEMMER: Whose idea was this?
RICE: Well, the whole team had been thinking for some time about how the president might go to Iraq. We'd talked about it at one point during the summer. But in this particular generation of the trip -- the one that began when we were on the trip to Asia and we began talking about (it) -- it was Andy Card who said to the president, "Thanksgiving is coming up. Do you think you want to go to Baghdad?" It was as simple as that.
The president said he was interested, but that he had to make absolutely sure that this could be done without undue risk to himself, or undue risk to those on the ground. And so, there was a long planning effort led by Deputy Chief of Staff Joe Hagan, who did all the work and did all of the assessment.
The president, finally, on Wednesday morning -- with Vice President (Dick) Cheney, with Andy Card, and myself -- looked at the arrangements one last time and said, yes, he thought it was a go.
HEMMER: Yes, with this cargo plane last week and the DHL cargo plane -- you know was hit by a surface air missile flying in and out of that same airport -- did that give you pause or second thoughts at that point?
RICE: Well, people took a second look at that point, obviously. It was not the first time that there had been concerns about aircraft coming in and out of Baghdad International Airport. So, yes, it was looked at again, but it was decided that the plane was well defended and that the president could do this as long as the operational security was maintained, as long as there wasn't advance notice that he was coming in. And that was the reason for the extraordinary secrecy.
HEMMER: You know your title, adviser for national security, why would you advise the president of the United States to fly into what is considered to be probably the most dangerous place on the planet today?
RICE: The president of the United States is the commander-in-chief and he felt strongly, and I think we agreed completely -- and by the way, his entire national security team believed -- to go to these troops who are on the front line in the war on terrorism, to say to them, America stands with you and is proud of your service.
To have an opportunity to do that in person on Thanksgiving Day, and to be able to deliver a message also to the Iraqi people that, while the coalition has defeated Saddam Hussein and overthrown him from power, it is now up to the Iraqi people with our help to secure their democratic future.
Those were messages that needed to be delivered. And really, the only messenger that made sense was the President of the United States.
And I can tell you, Bill, sitting with those men and women in uniform and talking with them, it did a lot for them -- as it did for all of us -- for the president to be there with them. It was a very important thing to do.
HEMMER: Dr. Rice -- quickly -- how often were you and the president asked, how long will we be staying here? When can we go home?
RICE: I was not asked that question once. What I was told during the time that I was there with the troops is that, you know, they think about their families and, but they think mostly about their mission. And they were really hardened by the president being there.
I know that it's hard on families and I know that it's hard on the troops. And we've had to take some sacrifices in this cause. But the president knows and we all know that nothing of lasting value is ever borne without sacrifice. And this is for the security of America, for the security of America in the future and it's well worth doing. And that's what the president wanted to say to the forces yesterday and I think he got the chance to do that.
HEMMER: On a political note, there's this tug-of-war you're well aware of right now, as to when Iraq should hold elections. Right now, it appears that there's a big push for this June to hold national elections. Is that acceptable to you in the White House?
RICE: The plan that the Governing Council adopted last week that would go to a transitional arrangement, based probably on national ... caucuses of some kind to get an interim legislature to which sovereignty could then be transferred, is a good plan.
But obviously, in its implementation there's going to be a lot of debate and a lot of discussion about how to move forward. That's only natural in the democratic process. I know that (civilian administrator L. Paul) Jerry Bremer and his people are in contact with a wide variety of Iraqis and Iraqi leadership, who have an interest in this, and I'm quite certain that in the end this plan is going to implemented in way that really does give to the Iraqi people the kind of voice that they need.
Recognizing that this is an interim step. That eventually, they will need to have a permanent constitution and nationwide elections. But this is an interim step and it's a good plan, and Jerry Bremer is working very hard with all concerned parties. And it's a good thing that there is debate and discussion about it.
