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Leaders from the Group of Eight -- which includes the United States, Germany, Japan, France, Britain, Italy, Canada and Russia -- gathered Wednesday in the central Italian city of L'Aquila for their annual summit meeting. The leaders are discussing issues including stimulus plans to bolster the global economy, measures to curb global warming and security issues in North Korea and Iran.

The pictured attendees, from left to right, are: Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper , U.S. President Barack Obama, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Sweden's Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

The summit will also discuss ways to expand the Group of Eight, given the notion that the world's most-industrialized nations can no longer claim leadership on the global political and economic agenda.

During his surprise visit to Iraq today, President Obama addressed troops at Camp Victory outside of Baghdad. He thanked the trooped for their service and called this a period of "transition."

"It is time for us to transition to the Iraqis," Mr. Obama said. "They need to take responsibility for their country and for their sovereignty."

More CBS News Coverage Of The President's Surprise Visit To Iraq

Map: Full Coverage Of Obama's First Overseas Trip

Here are the full remarks, as released by the White House:

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you, guys. Let me say Multinational Force Iraq, Multinational Corps Iraq, Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq First Corps, America's Corp Band: Thanks to all of you.

Listen, I am so honored.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: We love you.

THE PRESIDENT: I love you back. (Applause.) I am honored -- I'm honored and grateful to be with all of you. And I'm not going to talk long because I want to shake as many hands as I can. (Applause.) And I've been talking all week. (Laughter.)

But there's a couple of things I want to say. Number one, thank you.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: You're welcome.

THE PRESIDENT: You know, when I was at Camp Lejeune I spoke about what it means for America to see our best and brightest, our finest young men and women serve us. And what I said then is something that I want to repeat to you, which is: You have performed brilliantly in every mission that has been given to you.

AUDIENCE: Ooh-ah.

THE PRESIDENT: Under enormous strain and under enormous sacrifice, through controversy and difficulty and politics, you've kept your eyes focused on just doing your job. And because of that, every mission that's been assigned -- from getting rid of Saddam, to reducing violence, to stabilizing the country, to facilitating elections -- you have given Iraq the opportunity to stand on its own as a democratic country. That is an extraordinary achievement, and for that you have the thanks of the American people. (Applause.) That's point number one.

Point number two is, this is going to be a critical period, these next 18 months. I was just discussing this with your commander, but I think it's something that all of you know. It is time for us to transition to the Iraqis. (Applause.) They need to take responsibility for their country and for their sovereignty. (Applause.)

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It doesn't take one more than a second to look at a map of the Middle East to see that Turkey is pretty close to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Besides being Iraq’s northern neighbor, Turkey is a key ally in U.S. efforts on both war fronts. So when the White House announced that President Obama would end his 8-day European swing in Turkey, it didn’t take long for members of the press to speculate that Turkey would not be the last stop on the trip.

For the last week, while traveling to London, Strasbourg, Prague, Ankara and finally Istanbul, the big question among the traveling White House press corps was "where’s he going to go?" It was almost a foregone conclusion that the president would take an unscheduled stop on his way home to Washington.

Usually, the White House press leaves a location a few hours after the president does. After the press was told that our departure from Istanbul was delayed a few hours, this after the president took off from here, supposedly to go home, reporters grew even more suspicious.

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Former President George W. Bush made four unannounced trips to Iraq and two to Afghanistan during his presidency:

(AP)
• Nov. 27 2003: Iraq -- Unannounced Thanksgiving Day visit to U.S. troops in Baghdad. He was on the ground for 2½ hours.



• March 1, 2006: Makes unannounced stop in Afghanistan on a trip to India and Pakistan



• June 13 2006: Makes surprise visit to Baghdad for talks with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki



• Sept 3, 2007: Stops in Iraq on a trip to Australia for the APEC Summit.



• Dec. 14-15 2008: Makes final visit as president to Iraq, visiting Baghdad and Camp Victory. He then went to Afghanistan, visiting Kabul and Bagram Air Base.

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CBS News’ Chief White House Correspondent Chip Reid describes the president’s surprise visit in Baghdad after the press was told Mr. Obama would return to Washington, from Istanbul on Tuesday:

“He left Istanbul about two and a half hours ago. His official schedule said he was heading home to Washington, D.C., but the plane headed to the southeast. He's here for a visit with the troops,” Reid said in an audio recording.

“He is also going to participate in the awarding of ten medals of valor, he's going to meet with General Odierno, the commander here, and talk about how things are going on the ground -- he is also going to talk to Prime Minister Maliki about the political solutions that the president says are necessary for success here,” he continued.

Reid explained that White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs gave members of a press a “quick briefing” on the flight from Istanbul to Baghdad.

“He said there has been more elaborate travel…plans but, and I can vouch for this, the air is so full of dust that there was not enough visibility to travel by helicopter so we are motorcading to Camp Victory where the president is going to spend some time with the troops,” Reid said.

To listen to Chip Reid’s report from Baghdad with the president click here.

President Obama has been on a weeklong trip to the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Czech Republic and Turkey. But on his way home to Washington, he made an unannounced stop – Iraq.

Mr. Obama landed in Baghdad after spending the day in Istanbul, Turkey.

Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the president will meet with General Odierno at Camp Victory, meet with troops there and participate in awarding of 10 medals of valor.

He will then call Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. He was scheduled to meet with them in person, but weather conditions in Iraq are preventing that.

"Commanders on the ground determined weather prevents helicopter travel," Gibbs said.

Click here for full coverage of Mr. Obama's trip.

This post has been updated

President Obama is continuing his first overseas trip as president today with a trip to Turkey and his first visit to a Muslim country. One of the highlights of his visit is a speech to the Turkish Parliament in which he sought to reaffirm U.S. relations with the country as well as reach out to the greater Muslim world.

Mr. Obama said there was a clear message in him making the stop as part of his first overseas trip.

"Turkey is a critical ally. Turkey is an important part of Europe. And Turkey and the United States must stand together – and work together – to overcome the challenges of our time," he said.

The president recounted 150 years of U.S.-Turkey relations with this conclusion -- "our friendship is strong, and our alliance endures."

What is sure to be most closely watched in this speech is Mr. Obama's message to the Muslim world, saying that although "binds are strained," the U.S. is "not at war with Islam."

"Let me say this as clearly as I can: the United States is not and will never be at war and with Islam," Mr. Obama said. "In fact, our partnership with the Muslim world is critical in rolling back a fringe ideology that people of all faiths reject."

Mr. Obama continued by adding that the U.S. relationship will not only be "based on opposition to terrorism."

"We seek broad engagement based upon mutual interests and mutual respect. We will listen carefully, bridge misunderstanding, and seek common ground. We will be respectful, even when we do not agree," he said. "Above all, we will demonstrate through actions our commitment to a better future. We want to help more children get the education that they need to succeed. We want to promote health care in places where people are vulnerable. We want to expand the trade and investment that can bring prosperity for all people.

"In the months ahead, I will present specific programs to advance these goals. Our focus will be on what we can do, in partnership with people across the Muslim world, to advance our common hopes, and our common dreams. And when people look back on this time, let it be said of America that we extended the hand of friendship."

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Speaking at a press conference following the NATO Summit in Strasbourg, France this morning, President Barack Obama described the 60th anniversary meeting of European leaders as "very productive," in which pledges of additional resources for the war in Afghanistan were promised.

"These commitments of troops, trainers, and civilians represent a strong down payment on the future of our mission in Afghanistan and on the future of NATO," Mr. Obama said. "These are the new missions that NATO must take on in the 21st century and these are the new capabilities that we need to succeed. NATO was founded upon mutual responsibility to our common security. Today I'm confident that we took a substantial step forward in renewing our alliance to meet the challenges of our time."

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CBS News’ White House Correspondent Peter Maer tells Bob Schieffer that the President Obama’s speech in Strasbourg, France on Friday “will probably be remembered for outlining an Obama doctrine for U.S.-European relations.”

“The president, more or less, seemed like he was back on the campaign trail,” Maer said. “It really is a campaign here, a campaign for European public opinion.”

He added that “cooperation” has been a major theme of Obama’s trip, both during his town hall and the G20 meetings in London.

Click here to see the whole interview from France:

President Obama today met privately with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Baden-Baden, Germany, then made comments and took questions along with his German counterpart.

The president said that nations must focus on refining the goals of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the military alliance between democratic states in Europe and North America.

Mr. Obama, who came to Baden-Baden and nearby Strasbourg, France for a NATO summit honoring the alliance's 60th anniversary, said the alliance has been enormously successful. But he added that NATO goals must be focused; "If NATO becomes everything," he said, "then it's nothing."


The president has put a renewed focus on the war in Afghanistan, pledging to deploy 30,000 more troops to the country by the end of the year. Under President George W. Bush, troop levels were evenly divided between U.S. and allied forces; the American troop buildup, as the New York Times notes, will mean there will be twice as many American troops as allied troops by year's end unless NATO deploys significantly more troops.

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