President Bush Makes Historic Visit to Liberia

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Credit: Eric Draper/White House

United States President George W. Bush and Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf pass an honor guard Thursday during the President Bush's visit to Monrovia, the capital of Liberia. President Bush's visit was the first by a U.S. president to Liberia since President Jimmy Carter visited in 1978.
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Credit: Eric Draper/White House

Students cheer and wave American and Liberian flags as the motorcade of President Bush and first lady Laura Bush travel through the streets of Monrovia to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where President Bush met with President Sirleaf.
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Credit: Shealah Craighead/White House

President Bush and President Sirleaf review Liberian troops at the Barclay Training Center in Monvoria. In his speech at the center, President Bush said that the United States will continue to support the training of the army of Liberia to be a "source of security instead of a source of terror."
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Credit: Eric Draper/White House

President Bush is greeted by school children on his arrival to the University of Liberia to attend a education roundtable in Monrovia, Liberia
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Credit: Shealah Craighead/White House

President Bush hugs Edna Tolbert during a roundtable on education at University of Liberia. During his stop in Liberia, President Bush announced that the United States will provide one million text books over the next year as well as desks for at least ten thousand Liberian children by the start of the new school year.
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Credit: Eric Draper/White House

President Bush embraces a student during the roundtable. President Bush said of his visit to Liberia: ""Though we are over four thousand, five hundreds miles away, I feel pretty much at home here."
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Credit: Shealah Craighead/White House

First lady Laura Bush participates in a roundtable discussion with Kartumu Boakai, spouse of Vice President Joseph Boakai, and local adults who have been faced with and persevered in working with Liberian youth who have been affected by the war. Laura Bush observed that there had been progress on the reconstruction effort since her last visit to Liberia in 2006.
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Credit: Shealah Craighead/White House

President Bush and Laura Bush wave to a crowd as they depart Monrovia, Liberia Thursday on Air Force One, concluding a five-nation, seven-day trip through Africa. It was Bush's second trip to Africa as president.