Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Baghdad,
Iraq yesterday on an unannounced mission to meet with political leaders aimed
at encouraging Iraqi national unity and continued momentum in the fight against
ISIS.
“The Vice President will also be discussing
steps the international community can take to promote Iraq’s economic stability
and further regional cooperation,” a White House statement said, stressing, “He
will also have an opportunity to thank US diplomatic and military personnel for
their tremendous service.” Biden has made several visits to Iraq to shore up
the important bilateral relationship, particularly in the early years of the
Obama administration, but this is his first trip since 2011.
In summer 2014, the terror group ISIS swept
into the country, taking large swaths of land, including the city of Mosul. The
crisis led to a change in government as well, and while Prime Minister Haider
al-Abadi is working to bridge sectarian divides, his government has been
adplagued in recent months by protests and opposition from predecessor Nuri
al-Maliki, as well as Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
It is an issue Biden is keenly aware of as he
meets with political leaders. Earlier this month, Biden spoke with Abadi and
President of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani, in which they agreed on
the importance of the fight against ISIS. According to an official, President
Barack Obama instructed his team at the end of the year that his “number one foreign
policy priority in 2016 was putting ISIS on the path to defeat.”
“And
obviously you can’t do that if you don’t get it right in Iraq,” the official
said, noting that Biden has been the point person for Iraq since the beginning
of Obama’s first term. “His visit is really just to reaffirm our partnership
with Iraq and how important Iraq is to the Obama administration down the home
stretch,” the official further said. Biden’s visit follows several major
announcements in recent weeks regarding America’s role in stepping up the fight
against ISIS.
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