President Bush has breakfast with US Navy 5th Fleet

(13 Jan 2008)
1. Wide of US President George W. Bush entering breakfast room of US Navy 5th Fleet
2. Bush greeting officials; UPSOUND clapping and cheering, zoom out to wide of room, zoom in to Bush greeting officials
3. Wide of officials clapping, pan to Bush standing in line for breakfast
4. Bush pouring syrup over pancakes
5. Bush making his way to his table, shaking hands with troops at the table before sitting down for breakfast
STORYLINE:
US President George W. Bush had a breakfast of bacon and pancakes on Sunday with troops from the US Navy's 5th Fleet in Bahrain's capital Manama before boarding Air Force One bound for the United Arab Emirates.
He was expected to give a speech in Abu Dhabi about regional security and his push for democratic reform in the Mideast.
On Saturday in Kuwait, Bush said he was open to the possibility of slowing or stopping plans to bring more US troops home from Iraq, defying domestic demands to speed the withdrawals.
Updated on war developments, Bush said the US presence in Iraq will outlast his presidency.
He said any decision about troops levels needs to be based upon success.
He said there was no discussion about specific numbers when he was briefed by General David Petraeus, the top US commander in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, the US ambassador to Baghdad.
The war, now in its fifth year, was a dominant theme during Bush's stops in Kuwait and Bahrain, two Persian Gulf nations crucial to US military efforts in the region.
Kuwait, invaded by Saddam and liberated by a US-led war in 1991, is a major military staging area for the deployment of US troops and equipment.
Polls show people in the US overwhelmingly oppose the war.
The Democratic-led Congress has tried for a year to force Bush to order withdrawals or set deadlines for pullbacks.
But Bush, supported by most Republican lawmakers, has prevailed in every showdown.
Iran also is a main issue of Bush's trip, particularly in the five Arab nations he is visiting.
Nervous about Iran's military might and rising influence, the leaders of these nations also are anxious about the confrontation between US and Iranian naval vessels off their shores.
Arab allies want assurances that Bush is not interested in starting a war that could threaten military bases on their soil or the lucrative oil trade
through the Strait of Hormuz.
But they also want security commitments from the president.
A White House spokesman said Bush called Jordan's King Abdullah II to update him on his trip to the Middle East, which showcases Bush's new drive to secure a peace pact between Israel and the Palestinians this year.
The president told King Abdullah that he had been "encouraged by what he found in Israel and the Palestinian territories and hopeful about the progress that can be made there", the spokesman said.
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