Schwarzenegger wows US troops on return to Iraq

Arnold Schwarzenegger flew in to Iraq on a morale-boosting visit for US troops on Monday, drawing cheers from servicemen and women, some of whom were lucky enough to be gifted a cigar.

- I was here in 2003 and before I left I said 'I'll be back' - the Hollywood actor turned politician told hundreds of soldiers, mimicking his most famous line from the Terminator movies that made him a global star.

- The Terminator always keeps his promise - said the 62-year-old Republican governor of California, who was looking lean and tanned ahead of his return to the big screen next year.

Schwarzenegger met troops at Camp Victory, a giant US military base near Baghdad airport, and spent two hours shaking hands and posing for pictures, having flown in from Israel, after attending a conference focused on the environment and Middle East security.

- I said to myself, well, it's obvious when you are that close to Iraq you go and visit your soldiers and the great men and women who are serving this great country - he said, encouraging them to stick to their tasks ahead of the planned drawdown of US troops in Iraq.

The 13-times world bodybuilding champion, who also starred in Commando, The Running Man, and True Lies, before becoming governor of California in 2003, likened his training regime as a young man to that of soldiers at war.

- Don't ever get discouraged - he told troops who gathered to hear him speak as they ate their evening meal at a giant DFAC (dining facility) on the military base.

- I asked myself many times on the way up why am I doing five, six, seven hours of training every day? Why am I on this strict diet? But you know in the end you've got to fight through it and inspire each other because you are not here for nothing. -

Schwarzenegger will star alongside fellow action movie stars Sylvester Stallone and Dolph Lundgren in The Expendables, directed by Stallone, to be released in summer 2010.

There are currently 117,000 American soldiers serving in Iraq.

President Barack Obama has pledged to withdraw all US combat troops from Iraq by August next year, with about 50,000 service personnel staying behind until they too are pulled out by the end of 2011.