Bush vows not to abandon Iraq

WASHINGTON, Sept 3 (Reuters) US President George W Bush, on a surprise visit to Iraq, said today the United States would not abandon the Iraqi people.

''America does not abandon its friends. America will not abandon the Iraqi people,'' Bush told troops in a speech televised in the United States.

Bush stopped in Iraq on his way to Sydney, where he was scheduled to arrive tomorrow to attend a summit of Asia-Pacific leaders. He was travelling with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and national security adviser Steven Hadley. Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived separately an hour earlier.

REUTERS PY VC2330