by Arthur MacMillan

CAMP VICTORY, 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 almost 400 soldiers, mimicking his most famous line from the "Terminator" movies that made him a global star.

Schwarzenegger met troops at Camp Victory, a giant US military base near Baghdad airport, and spent two hours shaking hands and posing for pictures.

"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.

He flew 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 sprawling 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."

Captain Aaron Pulcifer, from 368 EASOG, an air support squadron based out of South Carolina, was one of the first to shake hands and grab a picture with Schwarzenegger.

"He is an outstanding role model, especially for the younger soldiers," said Pulcifer, 31, from Blackhills, South Dakota.

Major Chris Ferry, also of the air force, from Milford, New Hampshire, said the Terminator star's surprise visit was undoubtedly good for morale.

"No matter what your political views, it doesn't really matter with Arnold - he's the Terminator," said Ferry, 42, who is two-and-a-half months into his third tour since the 2003 US-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein.

Schwarzenegger will return to the big screen next year when he stars alongside fellow action movie stars Sylvester Stallone and Dolph Lundgren in "The Expendables", directed by Stallone, and due for release in the summer.

As well as meeting troops, the actor shook hands with many of the several hundred mostly South Asian workers who serve meals to the US troops at Camp Victory.

"It was great, I've seen all his films," said Bishnu Bagalo, a 28-year-old dining manager who is due to return home to Nepal next month after five years of work in Iraq. "Everybody knows Arnold, and now I've met him."

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.

There are currently 117,000 American soldiers serving in Iraq and Schwarzenegger said he wanted to see some of them again when he heads to the gym on Tuesday morning.

"Remember you've got to pump up those muscles," he said, before concluding his speech with another famous line from "Terminator 2: Judgment Day." "Hasta la vista (see you later)."