President to Visit Camp Pendleton

President Bush on Tuesday will visit U.S. troops at Camp Pendleton, where he will address the Marines and have lunch with base personnel, the White House said Thursday.

“This is an opportunity to thank the troops for all their service and sacrifice in defense of freedom,” said White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan. “And I expect the president will talk about the progress we’re making in the war on terrorism as well.”

Tuesday will not be the first time Bush has used Southern California as the backdrop for a war speech.

In a controversial appearance on May 1, 2003, he addressed the nation from the deck of an aircraft carrier off the San Diego coast. Under a huge “Mission Accomplished” banner, Bush said of the war in Iraq: “The United States and our allies have prevailed.”

But as the violence in Iraq continued, and then escalated, critics lambasted the president’s speech as premature and politically inspired. The White House responded by saying that the sign had been suggested by the carrier’s crew and was meant to herald the end of the ship’s long deployment.

Camp Pendleton, north of San Diego, provides training facilities for many active-duty and reserve Marines, Army and Navy units, as well as national, state and local agencies.