In a surprise visit, President Obama traveled to Baghdad to visit with troops and meet with top Iraqi officials. It was his second visit to Iraq, his first as president. Reporters traveling with the president have been whispering for days about the possibility of Obama tacking on an extra stop to his week-long tour of Europe. Speculation had centered on Afghanistan, which has emerged as Obama’s top military priority since being sworn into office in January. But Obama went to Iraq instead, partly because of proximity. Baghdad is just a two-hour flight from Istanbul, the last scheduled stop on Obama’s trip.

At about 4:40pm local time, Obama landed in Baghdad on Air Force One under a hazy dusty sky. In fact the weather forced the White House to scale back its plans. Initially, Obama planned to helicopter around Baghdad and meet not just with troops but with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki and President Jalal Talibani. But the weather was too bad, forcing Obama to motorcade to Camp Victory only. “Commanders on the ground determined weather prevents helicopter travel,” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told the press pool on AF1. Asked why the leaders wouldn’t come to him, Gibbs cited “timing.” But upon arrival at Al-Faw Palace, one of Saddam Hussein’s former homes that is now occupied by top military command, reporters learned from Obama himself that Maliki would indeed travel to meet him.  Asked why he came to Iraq, Obama said he was here to “thank the troops.” They are doing extraordinary work,” Obama told reporters. He said that although Afghanistan is getting much attention these days that Iraq still deserves attention and that his presence here is a reminder of that. Reporters are now waiting to hear Obama’s remarks to troops here.

The White House insisted on ultimate secrecy about the trip and took only the small travel pool of 14 reporters who regularly fly with Obama. On Monday, a senior administration official disclosed the trip to Newsweek, who was scheduled to fly home with Obama on Tuesday under the condition that it not be discussed with anyone or reported until Obama had landed safely in Baghdad. “Don’t worry about telling your bureau chief,” the official said. To keep word of the trip from somehow being intercepted over e-mail or phone, the White House had already called him.