US President George W Bush, who flew in to Baghdad for a surprise visit on Tuesday, thanked his troops for their "sacrifice" in Iraq.
"I bring greetings from a grateful nation," Bush told soldiers in Iraq.
"I thank you for your sacrifice. I thank you for your service. I thank you for making history."
Commenting on lengthy tours of duty in Iraq, Bush said "I understand long deployments are tough. They're tough on you and they're tough on your families.
"And so the first thing I want to tell you is the American people are incredibly grateful for what you do, and I bring their greetings and their thanks for the sacrifices you and your family make."
Bush also expressed confidence in General George Casey, the head of coalition forces in Iraq, and US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, for their work in Iraq.
"You know, one of the things I try to do is put good people in place to accomplish hard jobs, and I can't think of two better leaders than Zal Khalilzad and General Casey to lead this important effort," he said.