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President Bush, right, and Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen of Denmark navigate a path Friday at Camp David.
CAMP DAVID, Md. (Map, News) - President Bush this morning begins two days of Iraq talks at Camp David, the serene and sprawling retreat in Maryland where he likes to get away from the pressures of Washington.
“I felt that Camp David is a good place to do it because it can be distracting down in Washington — with phone calls, and all those kinds of” interruptions, Bush said Friday at the retreat. “We can make sure the people involved in senior levels of government stay focused on the task at hand.”
To that end, Bush has invited Cabinet members and senior staffers to the 125-acre getaway nestled in Catoctin Mountain Park in Frederick County. On Tuesday, Bush’s Cabinet will use a secure video link to confer with the Cabinet of Iraq’s fledgling unity government.
Bush spent a last weekend at Camp David, returning briefly to the White House on Sunday night for a private social event before making the 70-mile trek back to the retreat this morning. On Friday, he was spotted tooling around the grounds in a vehicle dubbed “Golf Cart One” with the prime minister of Denmark.
The heavily wooded property was first used by President Franklin Roosevelt, who named the place Shangri-la. Years later, President Dwight Eisenhower renamed it Camp David after his grandson.
Today, guests can stroll along wooded paths between rustic green cabins of rough-hewn lap siding with roofs of cedar shake shingles. Bush stays in the main cabin, known as Aspen, while guests stay in cabins named Dogwood, Maple and Holly.
Security at Camp David is extremely tight. Marines in green camouflage prowl the grounds toting M-16s. On Friday, they temporarily confiscated camera-enabled cell phones from visiting journalists.
Invitations to Camp David are highly prized and are often used as rewards for a president’s closest friends and allies. Bush made a point of mentioning that when he hosted Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Friday.
“The invitation to come to Camp David is an expression of my high regard for Prime Minister Rasmussen and our friendship between our two countries,” he said. “You know, I was checking back and I think it’s been over two years since we’ve had a foreign leader come and visit us here.”
bsammon@dcexaminer.com
Comments from Examiner Readers
11:29 AM MST on Thu., Jul. 10, 2008 re: "White House compares illegal immigration to speeding"
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9:06 AM MST on Tue., Jul. 31, 2007
re: "‘Golf Cart One’ Bush’s newest mode of transport"
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Examiner Reader said:
So once again we are being lied to AMNESTY, hell no. these bastard politians have sold out our country. I personally feel that they are traitors. Who the hell are they to be getting amnesty, everyone else came here the right way. WE DO NOT NEED THE ILLEGALS.
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Examiner Reader said:
you wrote, "On May 1, 2003, the term “Navy One” was employed for the first time when Bush helped pilot a Navy plane onto an aircraft carrier for a victory speech about Iraq. Democrats later accused him of prematurely declaring an end to major combat operations." In fact, Bush HIMSELF said, "major combat operations in Iraq have ended."
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