Bush leaves Iraq after surprise visit

WASHINGTON - US President George W. Bush left Iraq Monday following a surprise trip to a sprawling desert base with top members of his cabinet and military commanders, the White House said.
Bush "has left Iraq within the last 20 minutes," or shortly before 2000 GMT, White House spokeswoman Cynthia Bergman said.
The president was heading on to a summit of Asia-Pacific leaders in Australia after his one-day visit to the Al-Asad air base in Anbar province, where he held talks with Iraqi leaders that were joined by senior US officials.

09/03/2007 20:25 GMT