The Israeli press is excited about President Bush's trip to Israel, much more so than the American press, as evidenced by the way U.S. outlets have devoted most of their resources to the presidential primaries.

Mr. Bush arrives here at Ben Gurion International Airport at noon, 5 a.m. Eastern time, and will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert this afternoon.

One notable thing about Israel is the number of police and military personnel you see everywhere, and many of them are young women. In the picture below you can see a group of young women in military uniforms, and you might think they were at some sort of school or academy were it not for the machine guns.

Below you can see some video of preparations on the tarmac for the arrival ceremony. The music in the background was being piped in over loudspeakers. With the sun and the warm weather, it made for a more relaxed atmosphere, sort of, than usual prior to a big presidential event.

-- Jon Ward, White House correspondent, The Washington Times