U.S. President George W. Bush, got a hero's welcome in Albania on Sunday as he became the first American president to visit this tiny impoverished nation, the Associated Press reported. The hills overlooking the capital boomed with cannon bursts heralding Bush's arrival. Thousands of people gathered in the downtown square on a brilliantly sunny day to see the U.S. president and first lady Laura Bush. Bush said he wanted to encourage Albania's free society, but it also makes good political sense on the world stage for him to stop in Albania, if only for about eight hours, and be seen receiving a robust greeting in the predominantly Muslim country. «I want to make sure the Albanian people understand that America knows that you exist and that you're making difficult choices to cement your free society,» Bush said in a pre-trip interview. «I'm coming as a lover of liberty to a land where people are realizing the benefits of liberty.» Bush was to meet with Albania's President Alfred Moisiu and Prime Minister Sali Berisha and greet troops who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was to have lunch with the prime ministers of Albania, Macedonia and Croatia, which hope to join NATO next year.
