Bush’s Thanksgiving trip to Baghdad, which seemed like a public relations coup at the time, is quickly turning into yet another debacle for the White House.
First, Bush had to deal with a few headaches after we learned that the picture-perfect turkey the president was holding for the cameras was just a prop.
Then, the White House had to scramble for an explanation after they were caught fibbing about having seen a British Airways flight over the Atlantic on the way back from Baghdad.
Now, the president has pulled a trifecta with reports that the cheering soldiers who met Bush were pre-screened and other soldiers who showed up for Thanksgiving dinner with the president were turned away.
The Washington Post’s Dana Milbank today cited a report in Stars and Stripes, a Pentagon-authorized military newspaper, which quotes two officials with the Army’s 1st Armored Division as saying that “for security reasons, only those pre-selected got into the facility during Bush’s visit…. The soldiers who dined while the president visited were selected by their chain of command, and were notified a short time before the visit.”
I have to admit, I don’t understand the need to screen soldiers “for security reasons.” They are, after all, U.S. troops.
Stars and Stripes also ran a letter from Sgt. Loren Russell, who noted that soldiers were “dismay[ed]” when some of the troops were “turned away from their evening meal.”
Apparently, the 1st Armored Division officials told Stars and Stripes that all soldiers had the opportunity to get a proper Thanksgiving meal, but many of the troops had to wait until the president was gone.
I guess when you go out of your way to manipulate a photo-op, some of these little details are bound to get out.