Shoe-Throwing Mars Bush's Baghdad Trip

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Raw Video: Iraqi Journalist Throws Shoes at Bush

An Iraqi journalist threw two shoes at President Bush during a news conference Sunday with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The president was not hurt in the incident.

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And Bush told reporters that the mission in Afghanistan was "the same" as the one in Iraq: "To have the young democracy develop the institutions so it can survive on its own, not to repeat the mistakes of the 1980s, which is to achieve an objective and leave." He added that the United States also aimed to "deny a safe haven for al-Qaeda."

Upon landing, Bush addressed U.S. soldiers and Marines on the tarmac before boarding a helicopter for a flight to Kabul, where he met with Karzai. The Afghan leader greeted him warmly, the Associated Press reported, but Karzai also emphasized that the visit, Bush's second to Afghanistan, came only after repeated requests. He said that he wished that Bush had more time and that the Afghan people could see Bush in person.

The veil of secrecy for the Afghanistan leg was even more opaque than that for Iraq, the trip coming as Afghanistan is being wracked by levels of violence unseen since the United States invaded in 2001.

That situation contrasts with declining violence across Iraq, which Bush referenced in describing that war as on the path to victory. Yet many areas in Iraq remain unstable, particularly in the north. Last week, at least 57 Iraqis were killed in a suicide attack at a popular restaurant outside the oil-rich city of Kirkuk.

More than 4,200 members of the U.S. military have died here since the 2003 invasion; the war has cost U.S. taxpayers $576 billion so far.

The improvement in security conditions in Iraq over the past year has had little discernible impact on the mood of the American public, which has said in polls that the invasion was a mistake. Bush said in a recent interview that faulty intelligence that preceded the war was his "biggest regret," although he declined to say whether he would have changed course if he had known Saddam Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction.

On Sunday, Bush met with a series of Iraqi leaders about the recently completed security agreement, which calls for the withdrawal of U.S. forces by the end of 2011.

After meeting with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani at Salam Palace, Bush hailed the security agreement as "a reminder of our friendship and as a way forward to help the Iraqi people realize the blessings of a free society."

Bush's praise for the pact is particularly notable given that the U.S. administration spent years dismissing proposals for withdrawal timelines as dangerous admissions of defeat. The agreement came after months of hard bargaining by Iraqi leaders, who insisted on a firm date for the removal of U.S. troops.

Although Bush and his aides characterize the agreement as a sign of improvement, it is still divisive and may not last. A national referendum on the pact is required in the summer; rejection by the Iraqi public could speed the withdrawal of U.S. troops. The country's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, has expressed concerns about the agreement. Opponents are railing against it.

Bush previously traveled to Iraq in November 2003, June 2006 and September 2007.

Bush's farewell visits are part of a carefully orchestrated series of valedictory trips, speeches and interviews aimed at highlighting his administration's record on a variety of issues, including terrorism and the fight against AIDS. The effort has largely been overshadowed, however, by the ongoing economic crisis and by President-elect Barack Obama's preparations for his arrival at the White House.