U.S. President George W. Bush shakes hands with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani during a meeting at Salam Palace in Baghdad, December 14, 2008.(Xinhua/AFP Photo)
Bush arrived in Baghdad Sunday in an unannounced visit.
·In Baghdad, Bush met his Iraqi counterpart Jalal Talabani.
·The visit is viewed as a farewell for his controversial Iraqi policy.WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President George W. Bush arrived in Baghdad Sunday in an unannounced visit, after Iraq agreed a security pact with Washington, which will allow U.S. troops to station for three more years, CNN reported.
The president, accompanied by his national security adviser Stephen Hadley and spokeswoman Dana Perino, departed from Andrews Air Force Base on Saturday night and arrived at Baghdad International Airport on Sunday.
In Baghdad, Bush met his Iraqi counterpart Jalal Talabani. He is scheduled to meet other top Iraqi officials and to address U.S. troops stationed there, according to the report.
The unannounced visit, less than 40 days ahead of the end of Bush's tenure, is his fourth as president and is viewed as a farewell for his controversial Iraqi policy, which labeled with a war in 2003 by a fabricated excuse and with an attempt to permanently station troops there in order to ensure its benefit in the oil-rich Middle East.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- The White House said it did not expect any announcement Sunday or Monday on a possible rescue plan to help the troubled U.S. auto industry, local media reported Sunday.
The White House said earlier that it was considering using the 700 billion U.S. dollar Wall Street rescue fund to prevent automakers from failing.
A 14-billion-dollar loan package aimed at bailing out the American auto industry from bankruptcy collapsed on Thursday night, as it was rejected by the U.S. Senate despite the Wednesday approval by the House of Representatives.
The rescue plan was designed specifically for the so-called Detroit Three, namely General Motors (GM) Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC.
GM and Chrysler have warned that they could be just weeks away from collapse if there is no external assistance. Ford, which said it currently has sufficient money on hand, also hopes to get a line of credit in case its finances worsen.
The three companies employ nearly 250,000 people directly, and 100,000 more jobs at parts suppliers could hang on their survival.
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