Bush Gets Rare Thank You as Liberator of Iraq

Bush Gets Rare Thank You as Liberator of Iraq
By Johanna Neuman

President Bush is struggling in the polls. Democrats are trying to tether his would-be successor, Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, to unpopular Bush policies. And protests over U.S. beef imports have grown so violent in Seoul, South Korea, that Bush has postponed a visit to the country, as we reported here earlier.

But there is at least one constituency who view Bush as a hero: the leaders of the Iraqi government.

In a meeting at the White House today, Iraq's President Jalal Talabani, above at left, said that Iraqis will always consider President Bush the "liberator of Iraq, from the worst kind of dictatorship" and "a great friend of Iraq." Noting that Iraq's economy is growing and that its relations with Arab neighbors such as Iran, Syria and Turkey have improved, Talabani also thanked "the great American people for their sacrifice and their support."

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/presidentbush/2008/06/bush-as-liberat.html