troops, that s what this trip was supposed to be about, reassuring those troops in iraq. i met and a lot of them, if we were still in iraq, what do you believe this trip meant to the troops? having had the honor to go previously with the commandant of the marine corps for christmas, i know what it is like to have somebody come in that is special to them. it wasn t the president but if you are a marine, the commandan commandant, that could be even bigger than a president. the troops understood the president doing two things, a commitment to them and to a country in which we are posted. the country of iraq wants us there. we ve agreed to be there. the important thing the president is making at the distinction is we are not hosted in syria. we went on a mission to get rid of vices. they were a sovereign country we objected to headed by a leader