WASHINGTON, Dec 16: US President George Bush on Tuesday concluded his farewell visits to the two countries — Iraq and Afghanistan — that are going to define his legacy.

The visit to Iraq on Sunday was to offer Mr Bush an opportunity to claim at least moderate success in bringing stability to Iraq but a shoe-throwing incident overshadowed everything else.

In Afghanistan on Monday, the US president received a cordial welcome, and also a medal from his host, President Hamid Karzai but he also had to acknowledge that things were not normal in Afghanistan either.

Mr Bush conceded that the United States was still discussing the same problems with the leaders of Pakistan and Afghanistan that were discussed in 2006 when he hosted a dinner at the White House for them.

“I remember when President Karzai and President Musharraf and I had the famous dinner at the White House. You know, the discussions really are the same today as they were then,” he said.

The talks, he said, focused on how to defeat those extremists and terrorists who use car bombs and suicide bombers to achieve political objectives.

“And that there needs to be a comprehensive strategy in helping the Pakistan government deal with those who bring great harm on their citizens — and bring harm on the citizens of Afghanistan.”

Mr Bush’s response followed a pointed question from an Afghan journalist about the lack of progress in Afghanistan, asserting that the Taliban were “laughing” just over the Pakistan border.

“So to answer your question, I think we need to have a collaborative strategy. We need to work together in a constructive way. And we are making progress along those lines,” he said.

Journalists accompanying the president to Iraq were prohibited from disclosing their destination to anyone. Even their cell phones and blackberries were taken away to ensure that nobody else knew where the president was going.

When they landed in Baghdad, the journalists were told they were going to the Green Zone, a heavily militarised area. Instead, they headed to President Jalal Talabani’s palace, which is in the so-called “Red Zone.”

This was the first time that President Bush wasn’t on a military base or in the Green Zone during a visit to Baghdad, and his media handlers told the press corps that this was a sign of how much progress has been made in the security arena.

At the palace, Mr Bush, Mr Talabani and the two Iraqi vice presidents linked hands, symbolising their partnership.

At Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s residence, Mr Bush and Mr Maliki signed a document outlining the future of the Iraqi-US relationship and the withdrawal of US forces by the end of 2011.

This was to be a positive culmination of what has been a very divisive war — based on false intelligence — that has defined much of the Bush presidency.

But a little incident deprived Mr Bush of his last opportunity to give a positive touch to his legacy in Iraq.

After their statements, as Mr Bush and the Iraqi prime minister were shaking hands, a shoe suddenly flew right toward Mr Bush’s head. He ducked. Then another shoe and the thrower was immediately wrestled to the floor, screaming as security agents pinned him down and dragged him out of the room.

“It happened so fast, it was surreal,” said a journalist who witnessed the incident.

President Bush remained calm and also joked about it, saying it was a “size 10” shoe. But the damage was done.

The image that will be remembered for years, after Mr Bush leaves the White House next month, will not be the signing of a friendship document, as the Bush administration wanted. It will be the image of two shoes flying toward the US president, one after another, and of Mr Bush ducking to avoid being hit.

The trip from Baghdad to Afghanistan was even more secretive. While the rest of the world believed Mr Bush was returning to Washington, he quietly flew to Afghanistan where the Afghans did their best to wash away the negative feelings created by the shoe-throwing incident in Baghdad.

When Mr Bush arrived at President Karzai’s palace he received an honour guard. Later, Mr Bush also received a medal from President Karzai — the Ghazi Amir Amanullah Khan insignia for his efforts to help Afghanistan rebuild and fight drugs.

But even the US media did not focus on the medal or the guard of honour. The show-throwing dominated the media even after Mr Bush returned home.