Franks, speaking to reporters briefly during the one-day visit, said the trip to the Iraqi capital was partly an "emotional event" to show appreciation to commanders "who have done the bone-crushing hard work."

The US Central Command chief flew into Baghdad's airport, one of the first sites in the Iraqi capital secured by US troops, his Air Force C-130 landing on a taxiway as the runway was still in disrepair from the bombing campaign.

Franks rode in a dozen-vehicle motorcade, which included Humvees and Bradley fighting vehicles, to Saddam's nearby Abu Ghurayb North Palace, which has been converted into a US military center.

The general toured the ornate rooms of the palace, including a bathroom where the sink fixtures, toilet-paper dispenser and toilet-bowl brush were all made of gold.

"It's the oil-for-palace program," said Franks, referring sarcastically to the "oil-for-food" program under which Iraq was permitted to sell oil under UN supervision for food, medicine and other necessities.

Bush on Wednesday called for an end to the crippling sanctions in place on Iraq since the 1991 Gulf War.

Smoking a cigar in the palace, Franks spoke by telephone with US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld before he and other commanders held a closed-door teleconference with Bush.

Franks declined to give details about his talks with Bush, saying that he "simply provide(s) the president and the National Security Council a statement of where we are in the operation."

"I think over the past week we have seen water being turned back on in this country. I think we have seen power being turned back on in this country. I think we've seen hospitals going back to work all over the country," Franks said.

"I wanted to get our commanders together in Baghdad because that's been of course the center of gravity for this regime while it stood. And as we all recognize, it stands no longer," he said.

But he cautioned that there was still fighting going in on Iraq.

"Every day we see remnants of what we call Arab fighters or foreign fighters who have come in from a number of other countries," Franks said.

Franks visited Baghdad on day 28 of the war to bring down Saddam's regime. US forces entered the heart of the capital on April 9 after driving up from Kuwait in a lightning campaign.

Security was stringent throughout the general's visit. Flying from Kuwait to Baghdad, Franks' plane was protected by an F-15 escort. On the 10-minute drive between the airport and the palace, Abrams tanks were stationed amid the palm trees.

Apache helicopters roared overhead as Franks met the commanders at the palace, where a gold and crystal chandelier hung down in a room marked by a nine-foot (two and a half-meter) tall map of Iraq.

Although the palace, one of Saddam's many residences around Baghdad, was not a major scene of fighting, it had been hit by a US missile, and Franks visited the scene of the impact where a massive heap of stone and metal was piled up.

Franks and his officers also passed by the palace's swimming pool, where a sign in English warned divers to check the water level before plunging in. The advice was pertinent, as the pool was completely drained of water.

Franks had earlier stressed that his trip to the Iraqi capital was meant to meet with troops and that he was "not looking to have a victory parade in downtown Baghdad."

(ATTENTION: POOL REPORT)

SPACE.WIRE