BAGHDAD: On a farewell trip to Iraq, US President George W. Bush said yesterday the war has been hard, but was necessary to protect the US and give Iraqis hope for a peaceful future.

Bush appeared at a Baghdad news conference yesterday with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki and said there is more work to be done with the war now in its sixth year.

Al-Maliki said his country is making progress on every front.

The two leaders participated in a ceremonial signing of a new US-Iraqi security agreement. Bush said the agreement puts Iraq on solid footing — now and in the future.

But not everyone was happy with Bush’s visit.

A man at the news conference threw his shoes at Bush and was dragged out by security officials. The president, who ducked to avoid being hit, joked about the incident and calmly took questions.

Bush defended the war, now in its sixth year.

“The work hasn’t been easy, but it has been necessary for American security, Iraqi hope and world peace,” the president said. “I’m just so grateful I had the chance to come back to Iraq before my presidency ends.” But in many ways, the unannounced trip was a victory lap without a victory. Nearly 150,000 US troops remain in Iraq fighting a war that is remarkably unpopular in the US and across the globe. More than 4,209 members of the US military have died and the war has cost US taxpayers $576 billion since it began five years and nine months ago.

After an arrival ceremony, Bush began a rapid-fire series of meetings with top Iraqi leaders. The president wanted to highlight a drop in violence in a nation still riven by ethnic strife and to celebrate a recent US-Iraq security agreement, which calls for US troops to withdraw by the end of 2011.

In a sign of modest security gains in this war zone, Bush received a formal arrival ceremony — a flourish absent in his three earlier trips. Referring to Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, seated beside him, and the country’s two vice presidents, Bush said: “I’ve known these men for a long time and I’ve come to admire them for their courage and their determination to succeed.” Bush’s meetings at the palace were held as the sun set outside and darkness fell over Baghdad. Talabani called Bush “our great friend,” who “helped to liberate” Iraq.

“Thanks to him and his courageous leadership, we are here,” Talabani said.

Stephen Hadley, Bush’s national security adviser, said the trip proved that the US-Iraq relationship was changing “with Iraqis rightfully exercising greater sovereignty” and the US “in an increasingly subordinate role.” The Bush administration and even White House critics credit last year’s military buildup with the security gains in Iraq. Last month, attacks fell to the lowest monthly level since the war began in 2003. Still, it’s unclear what will happen when the US troops leave. While violence has slowed in Iraq, attacks continue, especially in the north.

For Bush, the war is the issue around which both he and the country defined his two terms in office. He saw the invasion and continuing fight — even after weapons of mass destruction, the initial justification for invading Iraq, were not found — as a necessary action to protect Americans and fight terrorism. Though his decision won support at first, the public now has largely decided that the US needs to get out of Iraq.

It was Bush’s last trip to the war zone before Obama takes office on Jan. 20.