George Bush narrowly avoided being hit in the face today by a pair of shoes hurled by an angry Iraqi journalist who called the outgoing President a dog during a farewell visit to Baghdad.

The attack highlighted the contempt felt by many Iraqis for Mr Bush, whose presidency will be defined by his decision to invade Iraq, a move that brought down Saddam Hussein but also destroyed the lives of tens of thousands.

Displaying quick reactions, the incumbent President ducked as the size 10 missiles hurtled over his head, one after the other, at a joint press conference with Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi Prime Minister, in Baghdad’s Green Zone.

Mr Maliki stuck out a hand to try to block the second shoe.

"This is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog," shouted the journalist, Muntazer al-Zaidi, before he was bundled from the room by security staff.

Throwing shoes is particularly insulting in the Middle East. A crowd of Iraqis used shoes to whack a toppled statue of Saddam after the 2003 invasion.

Mr Bush tried to brush of the slight, saying: "It doesn't bother me … I didn't feel the least threatened by it.”

The drama detracted attention away from the purpose of his fourth and final visit to Iraq as President to say goodbye to Iraqi leaders and sign a security agreement that sets a timetable for US forces to withdraw from the country within three years.

Bush's trip was also meant to hail a sharp fall in violence since his previous trip to Iraq in September 2007.

Asked whether he had come on a victory lap before stepping down on January 20, the President said: "No, I consider it an important step on the road toward an Iraq that can sustain itself, govern itself and defend itself."

He continued: "There's still more work to be done. The war is not over."

Mr Maliki, who had a strained look on his face after the shoe-throwing incident, praised Mr Bush: "You have stood by Iraq and the Iraqi people for a very long time, starting with getting rid of the dictatorship."

The two leaders signed the US-Iraqi security accord, drawn up over nine months of often heated debate and only passed by Parliament earlier this month. The document must still be approved in a public referendum.

Replacing a United Nations mandate that expires at the end of the year, the agreement governs the conduct of some 150,000 US forces in Iraq from January 1, including a timeline to pull out of towns and cities by the summer and to withdraw completely by the end of 2011.

Critics, however, suspect that US forces will stay for longer. Fuelling such concerns, General Raymond Odierno, the top US commander in Iraq, said yesterday that some troops will remain in cities as trainers embedded with Iraqi forces.

Mr Bush heralded the US-Iraqi accord as a “reminder of our friendship and a way forward to help the Iraqis to realise the blessings of a free society”.

Speaking after an earlier meeting with Jalal Talabani, the Iraqi President, he defended the invasion, which has cost the lives of tens of thousands of Iraqis and more than 4,200 US military personnel, as well as costing US taxpayer $576 billion.

“The work hasn’t been easy, but it has been necessary for American security, Iraqi hope and world peace,” Mr Bush said. “I’m just so grateful I had the chance to come back to Iraq before my presidency ends.”

Barack Obama, the incoming President, is due to take over the war from Mr Bush in 37 days.

He has promised to bring all US combat troops back home from Iraq a little over a year after moving into the White House, as long as commanders agree a withdrawal would not endanger American personnel or Iraq's security.

Security was tight in the afternoon as Air Force One, Mr Bush’s distinctive powder blue-and-white jetliner, landed at Baghdad airport. As always, his whereabouts were kept secret until his arrival. Security remains a concern despite a drop in attacks since his last visit in September 2007.

Mr Bush was greeted on the tarmac by General Ray Odierno, the top US commander in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, the US Ambassador.

His trip comes a day after Robert Gates, the Defence Secretary, visited a sprawling military base in central Iraq. Mr Gates will be the lone Republican holdover from the Bush Cabinet in the Obama administration.

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