Iraq: Reality Check in The Desert

Every day in Washington, President Bush gets multiple briefings on Iraq: a military update at 7 a.m., an intelligence report after that, political briefings through the day and finally a memo from his staff before he goes to bed. But during his recent surprise visit to al-Asad air base in the middle of Iraq's Anbar province, the President got an altogether different kind of report. In a concrete building sheltered from the 110°F (45°C) heat outside, Captain Lee Hemming, a Marine Cobra helicopter pilot, stood nervously opposite his Commander in Chief and a phalanx of fellow Marines and described his mission.

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