"Bush expresses pride, thanks in message to troops overseas" by Maura Reynolds, Los Angeles Times | December 25, 2007
WASHINGTON - President Bush spoke by telephone yesterday to 10 US troops stationed in Iraq and elsewhere around the world to thank them for serving their country and spending the holiday season away from their families.
Dana Perino, the White House spokeswoman, said the president told them their country is proud of them:
"He said he couldn't thank them enough for their contribution to their country, hopes they are in high spirits, and that they are serving a cause that is very noble. He said, 'I know that you miss your family.' [The president] asked them to pass on to their colleagues his appreciation and his wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year."
One of them was Corporal Orlando Anaya, a Marine from Roswell, N.M., stationed in Iraq. His father, Ray, said the phone call was an honor for his son and for the family.
The father, from his home in Roswell:
"I wasn't too surprised because I know he deserves it - everyone over there deserves it. But I was honored."
Bush also exchanged holiday greetings with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and spoke with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey about recent Turkish attacks on Kurdish separatists in northern Iraq.
Bush is spending Christmas at the Camp David, Md., presidential retreat. In addition to his wife, Laura, he is joined by his daughters, Jenna and Barbara, his mother-in-law, Jenna Welch, his sister Doro Bush Koch, his brother Marvin, and their families.
The brother who was in charge of WTC security on 9/11, huh?
The president will travel tomorrow to his ranch in Crawford, Texas, where he will spend the rest of the holiday break and ring in the new year before returning to Washington on Jan. 1."
