THE PRESIDENT
On Easter Sunday in Texas, Bush Awards Purple Hearts By JOEL BRINKLEY
CRAWFORD, Tex., April 11 - President Bush, emerging from seclusion at his Texas ranch, acknowledged Sunday morning that it had been "a tough week last week" in Iraq. His manner was drawn and somber.
His remarks came after Easter services at nearby Fort Hood. Mr. Bush also visited a military hospital and awarded Purple Hearts to 10 soldiers who were wounded in fighting in Iraq on April 2 and April 4. At least 10 more soldiers based at Fort Hood have been killed in action in the last week. Advertisement
When he left the hospital, Mr. Bush was red-eyed and grim, according to a report from the White House reporting pool.
It was Mr. Bush's first public appearance since Tuesday through a tumultuous week of news. The White House communications director, Dan Bartlett, insisted last week that "most Americans will understand" that the president wanted to spend the Easter holiday with his family.
This is Mr. Bush's 33rd visit to his ranch since he became president; all told he has spent almost eight months of his presidency here. White House spokesmen are accustomed to questions about how he spends his time here. They offer up details about the teleconference center where the president can preside over government meetings and the phone calls he makes to foreign leaders.
The ranch is where Mr. Bush received an intelligence briefing on Aug. 6, 2001, that referred to "patterns of suspicious activity in this country consistent with preparations for hijackings or other types of attacks." That briefing was declassified and made public by the White House on Saturday night in response to questions on Thursday when Condoleezza Rice, the national security adviser, testified before the panel investigating the Sept. 11 attacks.
Also on Thursday, American forces in Iraq pushed south to retake control of several Shiite towns held by insurgents, and three Japanese civilians taken as hostages appeared in a video broadcast blindfolded, while their captors threatened them with guns, knives and swords.
Mr. Bush spent that afternoon leading representatives of 22 hunting, fishing and wildlife organizations on a tour of his 1,600-acre ranch. Among his guests were leaders of the National Rifle Association, the Ruffed Grouse Society, Ducks Unlimited and the National Wild Turkey Federation. He also gave an interview to Ladies' Home Journal.
On Friday, as Americans worked to put a cease-fire in place in Iraq, Mr. Bush fished in the bass pond on his ranch with Roland Martin, host of the Outdoor Life Network cable show "Fishing with Roland Martin."
Mr. Bush "took the biggest one of the day" - a four-pound bass, Mr. Martin told The Associated Press.
"The president was very relaxed," he added. "He didn't really talk about politics at all."
The White House said Mr. Bush had to cancel another fishing trip scheduled for Saturday because of meetings with his advisers on Iraq.
Mr. Martin said the president told him, "I've been busy, all these crises."
Along with the relaxation, Mr. Bush received daily briefings, held meetings and made phone calls to members of his administration and to foreign leaders. Twice last week, he spoke with his national security team on developments in Iraq, via the secure teleconference center in a trailer near his ranch.
Among those taking part, the White House said, were Vice President Dick Cheney; Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld; George J. Tenet, the director of central intelligence; Secretary of State Colin L. Powell; L. Paul Bremer III, the American administrator in Iraq; Gen. John P. Abizaid, the American commander in the Middle East; Gen. Richard B. Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Ms. Rice; and Andrew H. Card Jr., the White House chief of staff.
On Friday morning, Mr. Bush, working to keep his Iraq coalition together, called the leaders of Poland, Italy and El Salvador, the White House said. And all week long the White House has issued statements and proclamations on numerous issues, from personnel appointments to organ transplants.
On Sunday evening, Scott McClellan, the White House spokesman, said, "Wherever the president is, he is fully capable of tending to all of his duties, and he was very much focused on events in Iraq this week."
Mr. Bush spoke to reporters for about seven minutes as he left the Easter services. Of the situation in Iraq, he said, "We're plenty tough, and we'll remain tough" in the face of "these incidents" that "were basically thrust upon the Iraqi people by gangs, violent gangs" that are "trying to stop progress toward democracy."
He added, "It was a tough week last week, and my prayers and thoughts are with those who paid the ultimate price for our security."