Four F18 fighters, two on each wing, escorted the presidential Boeing 747 over Baghdad at an altitude of 31,000 feet (9,500 metres).

Air Force One entered Iraqi airspace at 12:24 p.m. Baghdad timeand passed over the Iraqi capital at 12:55 (0955 GMT)..

The weather was clear and Bush, looking through the portholes, would have been able to make out the winding Tigris river, the international airport, streets, bridges and parks.

Flying at a ground speed of 467 miles (750 kilometres) per hour, the pilots tipped the wings to improve the view.

White House spokesman Air Fleischer told reporters Air Force One was escorted by F18s from the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz due to "overall precaution".

He did not elaborate.

In Doha, the last leg of the president's Middle East trip, a senior administration official said: "Bush pointed out various landmarks in Baghdad."

Air Force once spent one hour and 16 minutes in Iraqi airspace, he said, adding that Bush flew over the country for two reasons: "to get home" and "to show that Iraq was now free".

Asked if Bush would make an unscheduled stop in the Iraqi capital, Fleischer replied: "We're going home."

"It's not the purpose of this trip."

WAR.WIRE