President Bush's surprise Labor Day trip to Iraq is raising questions at home about whether Americans are paying too high a price for peace.

Bush offered soldiers words of encouragement at an Anbar Province air base. "If the kind of success we are now seeing continues, it will be possible to maintain the same level of security with fewer American forces," Bush said of the troop surge in the once-volatile area.

The president also met with local sheiks and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

While Bush sounded optimistic, some local residents remained unconvinced.

"I don't know who to believe anymore. I really don't," said World War II veteran Sal DeLuca, of Yonkers. "You don't know how many kids are getting killed over there ... It really hurts [to talk about it]."

Vietnam veteran Richard Palczewski can relate. "We didn't win in Vietnam. We're not gonna win in Iraq."

However, Alice Zimmerman worries about the consequences of removing U.S. forces. "I think if we bring the troops here ... it's going to be a lot of chaos over there."Bush's visit comes before Army Gen. David Petraeus and other officials give a progress report to lawmakers.