Biden Lands in Baghdad to Discuss Election Ban
EmailFrom Sunlen Miller Vice President Joe Biden has arrived in Baghdad for a series of high-level meetings with Iraqi leaders and U.S officials ahead of the March 7th general elections. The visit comes at a time when political tensions are rising within the war-torn country over parliamentary elections. Iraq’s election commission barred 500 candidates, most of whom are believed to be Sunni – form running in the elections on Thursday. The White House dispatching the Vice President for his third trip to the country as Vice President, and forth in the last year – to help ease tensions and hear directly from Iraqi leadership. During his trip, he will meet with Iraq’s President Jalal Talabani, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Speaker of the Council of Representatives Ayad al-Samarrai and other political leaders, the White House says. The Vice President is also scheduled to meet with the United Nations Secretary General’s Special Representative for Iraq Ad Melkert “to discuss U.S. and international efforts to support Iraq, with a focus on the national elections scheduled for March 2010.” The White House says the Vice President will meet with U.S. trips in the city as well. After flying overnight, Biden was greeted at Baghdad International Airport by Ambassador Chris Hill, General Ray Odierno, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, and Wing Commander Michael Canders. -Sunlen Miller
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Biden has a big mouth but was a good choice for VP. He’s a respected heavyweight on foreign policy and it is good for the country to have that skill available on the administration’s bench to keep a good grasp of the details in Iraq.
Posted by: jhw539 | January 22, 2010, 1:43 pm 1:43 pm
Why not Hillary? She was so successful with getting agreement on Iran sanctions.
Posted by: UN | January 22, 2010, 1:45 pm 1:45 pm
This must be an indication of a ‘no news day’.. I like it. Yes, Joe is the perfect V.P. .. following in a long line of sycophants.
Posted by: DontGet818OnMeNow | January 22, 2010, 1:59 pm 1:59 pm
“He’s a respected heavyweight on foreign policy”
Is he going to bring up his plan to partition Iraq again?
What about his idea to show the Arab world we’re friends by cutting a big check to Iran?
Will he stop by Lebanon, which he said in the VP debate has been Hezbollah-free since an imaginary Franco-American force drove that organization out of the country?
Biden is a stupid person’s idea of a smart person.
Posted by: bgates | January 22, 2010, 2:02 pm 2:02 pm
Yes, Joe is the perfect V.P. .. following in a long line of sycophants.
DontGet818OnMeNow | Jan 22, 2010 1:59:08 PM
Biden was a respected member of the Foreign Relations committee in the Senate for decades and did a great deal of good work during the thawing of the cold war. Biden was selected to burnish Obama’s foreign policy credentials and your blind hatred does not change the documented facts of his long record and abilities in this arena. (Nor is your typical Republican exaggeration helping your argument – I never said he was a perfect selection, indeed I directly called out one of his weaknesses).
Posted by: jhw539 | January 22, 2010, 2:05 pm 2:05 pm
Biden is a stupid person’s idea of a smart person.
bgates | Jan 22, 2010 2:02:26 PM
Well, put John McCain into the stupid person’s camp then.
Posted by: jhw539 | January 22, 2010, 2:19 pm 2:19 pm
I never said he was a perfect selection, indeed I directly called out one of his weaknesses).
A few more:
Iraq into 3rds, agreeing then disagreeing with the Iraq war (still pay for it though!), saying the surge wouldn’t work
“Regarding Iraq, Biden stated in 2002 that Saddam Hussein was a threat to national security, and that there was no option but to eliminate that threat”
Posted by: Go Figure | January 22, 2010, 2:20 pm 2:20 pm
-Will he stop by Lebanon, which he said in the VP debate has been Hezbollah-free since an imaginary Franco-American force drove that organization out of the country?-
Hysterical.
Posted by: Abdullah | January 22, 2010, 2:23 pm 2:23 pm
Biden is going to have the nerve to point at Iraq or Afganistan’s government and complaint about coruption, yet the Onama Admin and the Democrat Party here is more corrupt then their governments.
Posted by: Peter King | January 22, 2010, 2:33 pm 2:33 pm
Biden is going to have the nerve to point at Iraq or Afganistan’s government and complaint about coruption, yet the Onama Admin and the Democrat Party here is more corrupt then their governments.
Peter King | Jan 22, 2010 2:33:45 PM
Read that again folks. That’s how delusional the far right has become.
Posted by: jhw539 | January 22, 2010, 2:37 pm 2:37 pm
Do the best you can as you are Vice President Biden. Remember, God is always there to help you. Do a “great job”, and “great” will do a job on you.
I have faith in you that you will accomplish your good mission and you will do it with all your heart and soul.
Posted by: God hear my prayer | January 22, 2010, 2:51 pm 2:51 pm
“The White House dispatching the Vice President for his third trip” Hmmm Obama trying to get rid of Biden?
Posted by: NoSpin1600 | January 22, 2010, 5:21 pm 5:21 pm
Wait a minute – if the Obama admin was all that against the Iraq war, and got into office because of people against the Iraq war, then why don’t they cancel all elections and replace the current President with another ruthless dictator?
Posted by: Bill | January 22, 2010, 11:25 pm 11:25 pm
“Iraq’s election commission barred 500 candidates, most of whom are believed to be Sunni – form running in the elections on Thursday.”
Where are the commenters who’ve said over the past several years that I was wrong in claiming that all we were doing with our deaths and money in Iraq was creating a Shiite-controlled nation that will be an ideal ally for Iran?
Posted by: The_Mick | January 23, 2010, 6:00 am 6:00 am