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Extra Special News of the Day: Surprise, Biden Shows up in Iraq
Vice President Biden landed Thursday in Baghdad on a surprise visit to meet with Iraqi officials and U.S. military commanders, as well as speak to U.S. troops on the ground. The trip comes two days after the White House announced the vice president would be assigned to oversee political reconciliation efforts among Iraqi factions. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama asked his No. 2 to work with Gen. Ray Odierno, the top commander in Iraq, and Ambassador Christopher Hill on mending fences in Iraq. Biden will be "working with the Iraqis toward overcoming their political differences and achieving the type of reconciliation that we all understand has yet to fully take place, but needs to take place," Gibbs said. As a senator, Biden advocated a plan to partition Iraq into semi-autonomous regions for the Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds -- but Gibbs said the vice president is "perfectly suited" for the role of unifying the country given his knowledge of the region. Such a responsibility would be the highest-level overseas duty assigned to Biden, who has trended toward more domestic matters despite his foreign policy credentials, touted during the campaign. The Biden visit comes after the U.S. met its Tuesday deadline to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraqi cities. Posted by: Sherry 2009-07-02 |
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