President Bush goes to a military base in Qatar Thursday to personally thank some of the thousands of American soldiers who have served in Iraq. It is the last stop on a weeklong tour of Europe and the Middle East.
This is the kind of event the president seems to love the most, a chance to address the troops as their commander in chief.
Mr. Bush has already met on American soil with soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines who fought in the Iraq war. Now he is going to thank those who are still striving to keep the peace in what the president has described as "a dangerous place."
He will begin his day with a private meeting with Paul Bremer, the man in charge of the Iraqi reconstruction effort. Also in attendance will be General Tommy Franks, who commands all the American troops involved in Iraq.
But the emotional highlight of his brief stay in Qatar will be his remarks at Camp As Sayliyah, the U.S. Central Command headquarters. It will also mark the end of a six-country tour that included a stop at the G-8 economic summit in France, and two days of intense Mideast diplomacy in Egypt and Jordan.