Yum!

In Counterpunch, Wayne Madsen notes something I had overlooked - and which, as far as I'm aware, no media story made any point of mentioning:

I may be a bit naive, and it has been a while since I served on active duty, but I can't recall ever sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner at 6:00 AM. Air Force One touched down at Baghdad International Airport, under cover of darkness, at 5:20 AM Baghdad time. Bush was on the ground for two and a half hours, his plane departing Baghdad at around 7:50 AM. Considering that it likely took some 30 minutes for Bush to disembark from Air Force One and travel by a heavily secured motorcade to the hangar where the troops were assembled, that means our military men and women were downing turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and non-alcoholic beer at a time when most people would be eating eggs, bacon, grits, home fries, and toast.

This adds to my suspicion that the soldiers at the din - er, breakfast - knew something was up. When I saw the video of Bush's entry, the group was on its feet cheering the instant he appeared from behind the curtain. Even knowing what to expect, I couldn't have so positively identified him that quickly. I'm not saying the soldiers had been told that Bush was coming, but they for damn sure had figured out that someone was - and I'd even be willing to bet, what with the way rumors can fly through a military post, that the notion that Bush was there was afoot in the crowd.