Bush Surprise Thanksgiving Visit to Baghdad Decried by Military Families as Re-election Photo Opp

Interview with Jeri Reed, member of Military Families Speak Out conducted by Scott Harris

President Bush's surprise Thanksgiving trip to Iraq was intended, his advisors said, to boost the morale of American troops confronting an increasingly dangerous assignment. But the extreme secrecy with which the president's two-and-a-half hour visit to the Baghdad airport was carried out underscored the combat conditions and lack of security that persist in much of Iraq. Critics accused the president of taking unnecessary risks for what was essentially a photo opportunity, whose stage-managed images will undoubtedly be used in his re-election campaign.

While Bush attempted to use his trip to Iraq as a way to briefly deflect criticism of his handling of the war, U.S. soldiers continued to die in the conflict that he had declared was over on May 1. A recent battle between American troops and insurgents in the Iraqi city of Samarra was originally characterized by the Pentagon as a rare clearcut victory over anti-U.S. forces, resulting in the deaths of 54 guerrilla fighters. But civilians interviewed in Samarra disputed the military's description of the clash and the death toll, with many saying that the Americans had fired indiscriminately, killing mostly civilians. The encounter, some said, had turned greater numbers of local citizens against the U.S. occupation.

Jeri Reed is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Oklahoma whose son Cody is now serving with the U.S. military in Iraq. Reed, who is a member of the anti-war group Military Families Speak Out, talked with Between The Lines' Scott Harris about her view of the president's Thanksgiving trip to Baghdad and the dangers her son -- and 130,000 other U.S. soldiers -- continue to face daily in occupied Iraq.

Visit Military Families Speak Out's websites at www.mfso.org or www.bringthemhomenow.org

Related links:

"Iraqis Deny US Accounts of Fierce Fight With 'Guerrillas'," by Phil Reeves, The Independent, Dec. 2, 2003

"Death Toll Rises From Iraq Ambush," by BBC News, Dec. 1, 2003

"Inside Story of How Washington is Losing its Battle," by Andrew Neil, The Scotsman, Nov. 30, 2003

"The Turkey has Landed: How Bush Cooked Up a Secret Mission to Give Thanks to His Troops," by Phil Reeves in Baghdad and David Usborne in New York, The Independent/UK, Nov. 28, 2003

"Bush Iraq Visit a Photo-Op Stunt," Agence France-Presse, Nov. 28, 2003

"Death Takes No Holiday in Iraq: As Bush and Others Enjoyed Photo Ops on Thanksgiving, the Carnage Went On," by Robert Scheer, Los Angeles Times, Dec. 2, 2003

"Relatives of U.S. Soldiers in Iraq Decry Bush's 'Photo Opportunity'," Institute for Public Accuracy, Nov. 28, 2003

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