BAGHDAD — Vice President
Joseph R. Biden Jr. told officials here Thursday that the United States remained committed to the agreement that calls for all American troops to leave
Iraq by the end of the year.
Ahmad Al-Rubaye/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., on Thursday with Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin on a visit to Camp Victory in Baghdad.
Notes from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and other areas of conflict in the post-9/11 era.
Go to the Blog »Mr. Biden was visiting Baghdad for the first time since Iraq seated its new government, and for the seventh time as
President Obama
’s point man on Iraq. He was a frequent presence in the country during the nine-month impasse after inconclusive national elections in March.
Even with his visit this week, after an unannounced stop in Afghanistan, much remains unresolved about Iraq’s new government and the future of the American involvement here. The re-elected prime minister,
Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, has yet to appoint leaders for the country’s three ministries in charge of security, instead assuming temporary control of those agencies himself.
Mr. Maliki has also failed to define a role for his chief rival in the election campaign,
Ayad Allawi, who retains support of most of the country’s Sunni minority. During the impasse, Mr. Allawi, whose bloc won more seats than Mr. Maliki’s, abandoned his bid to be prime minister only after an agreement to create a new strategic council, led by Mr. Allawi, that would limit the powers of the prime minister.
This agreement, which followed a suggestion strongly urged by Mr. Biden, allowed Mr. Maliki finally to seat a government. But nearly a month later, the council’s composition and its authority remain undefined, and many here consider it to be strictly advisory, with no more than ceremonial powers, a status that would leave many Sunnis feeling disenfranchised.
In a statement, Mr. Maliki said Mr. Biden assured him that the United States was “serious about activating the strategic framework agreement,” which includes the deadline for troop withdrawal.
Mr. Biden, who met separately with Mr. Maliki, President
Jalal Talabani and other Iraqi government and American military officials, did not take questions from reporters during his trip. But at a gathering of American troops, he said, “I think we made some good progress today,” and added that the Iraqi people were “for the first time, I would argue in their history, on the verge of literally creating a country that will be democratic, sustainable and, God willing, prosperous. And it can have a dramatic impact on this entire region.”
He added that the administration was committed to ending the war “by bringing you home within a time certain, but leaving behind a country that is worthy of the sacrifices that so many of your brothers and sisters have made.”
Many obstacles remain. Mr. Maliki’s long-term antagonist, the anti-American cleric
Moktada al-Sadr, returned last week. Mr. Sadr’s followers emerged during the election as a political force and whose surprise support of Mr. Maliki effectively ended Mr. Allawi’s bid to be prime minister.
Mr. Sadr’s supporters have adamantly rejected any American military presence here after December.
A Sadrist lawmaker said that Mr. Biden and the Americans were trying to find “alternatives” to the withdrawal agreement, adding that his party was not open to such reconsiderations.
“They are occupiers that are taking away the wealth of Iraq,” said the lawmaker, Jawad Kadhum. “As long as there is an American soldier or any presence or any U.S. military vehicle in Iraq, it will be disturbing us and all Iraqis that are looking for their freedom.”
Mr. Biden did not publicly address the return of Mr. Sadr or the role of his supporters in the government, where they control 40 seats.
Asked why he was in Iraq, Mr. Biden said: “I’m here to help the Iraqis celebrate the progress they made. They formed a government. And that’s a good thing.” He added, “They have a long way to go.”
As if to underscore that point, three bombs exploded in Baghdad on Thursday, killing two people and wounding 12.
Duraid Adnan contributed reporting.
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