i mentioned this before, but i don't think you read my blog. so i'm resorting to this open letter instead. here's the problem: i don't think these surprise visits are good PR anymore.
when you have to sneak in unannounced to a country and are immediately squirreled off to a heavily fortified embassy in the center of baghdad, and where you can't stay in the country longer than five hours because of security concerns, it doesn't make iraq seem like it's becoming a safe stable country.
i know in the early days of the iraq and afghanistan, the visit thing was always reported as a real triumphs. back then, however, details about all the security and dangers made you look courageous. after all, you were heading into a war zone. nowadays, it doesn't seem quite as gutsy, it just makes everyone wonder why it's still a warzone.
oh, and it also looks a little crass. a president with a 65% approval rating visiting a war zone looks a little different than one with a 33% approval rating. again, before it looked courageous, now it looks a little desperate.
i know it's not what you want to hear, you've gotten these surprise visits down pretty well in the past few years, in that you're still alive and all. but i just think you're not getting the bang for your buck that you used to out of them. maybe it's time to learn some new tricks.
love et cetera,
upyernoz
