Bush in Australia

Fresh from a surprise trip to Iraq, US President George W Bush arrived in Australia late Tuesday for an Asia-Pacific summit and a series of one-on-one meetings with world leaders.
Bush's official Air Force One airplane touched down on a rainy tarmac here at about 10:20 pm (1220 GMT) after an unannounced stop in the war-torn country's restive Anbar province to defend his handling of the conflict.
The US president was to meet today with Australian Prime Minister John Howard, a close ally on the war in Iraq, ahead of next week's White House progress report on the unpopular conflict.
Bush was scheduled to head back to Washington in the middle of this weekend's Asia-Pacific Economic (APEC) summit to prepare for a White House report on progress in restoring security and forging unity in Iraq.
Bush was also scheduled to hold talks Thursday with Australian opposition leader Kevin Rudd, who has said he will pull Australian troops from Iraq by mid-2008 if elected prime minister.