Without any fanfare, President George W. Bush left the White House last Sunday evening and boarded a plane for Iraq. He landed in Anbar province, 120 miles from Baghdad, Iraq's capital. In the past four years, Bush has paid three secret visits to the war-torn country.
While in Iraq, the President met with U.S. and Iraqi leaders. He hinted that he may soon be ready to reduce the number of U.S. troops in Iraq. There are 162,000 U.S. forces there. "If the situation continues to improve," said Bush, "we may be able to achieve the same objectives with fewer troops."
After leaving Iraq, Bush traveled to Sydney, Australia, to attend a 21-nation summit. On the agenda: trade and climate change.