Biden in Iraq to Visit U.S. Troops, Meet With Iraqi Leaders
July 03, 2010, 5:02 PM ET
By Timothy R. Homan
July 4 (Bloomberg) -- Vice President Joe Biden is in Iraq to celebrate the July 4 holiday with U.S. troops and meet with Iraqi leaders, according to the White House.
Biden, a former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, will “discuss recent developments” with Iraqi political leaders including President Jalal Talabani, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, and Ayad Allawi, the head of the Iraqiyya party, the statement yesterday said.
Iraq’s parliament has failed to choose a prime minister and form a government since elections March 7. No group won enough seats to govern alone and political leaders have been seeking allies since the vote. The maneuvering coincides with U.S. preparations to cut its Iraq force to 50,000 from 86,000 by September, before a full withdrawal next year.
“With the paralysis in Iraqi politics right now, the goal is to encourage the Iraqis to put aside partisan sectarian differences and then begin to move on with the normal activities of governance,” said William Martel, a professor of international security studies at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. “The trip will also reaffirm our commitment to the U.S. troops there” at a time when “Iraq has moved off the radar screen for the American people.”
Increased Violence
Violence increased after the March election failed to produce a clear winner, though attacks haven’t reached the levels of 2006-2007 when the country tipped toward civil war. An Iraqi oil pipeline was bombed June 29, with no casualties. At least 27 people were killed June 20 when two car bombs exploded outside a state-owned trade bank in Baghdad, a week after al- Qaeda suicide bombers and gunmen stormed the Central Bank of Iraq, leaving at least 15 dead.
Under Iraq’s constitution, the largest bloc gets to form the government only if it has a premiership candidate. Two Shiite Muslim-led groups that merged in June to create the biggest bloc of seats in parliament have agreed on a candidate for prime minister, Ali al-Dabbagh, the official government spokesman and a member of the bloc, said June 30.
The Shiite National Alliance, which includes Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s State of Law party and the Iraqi National Alliance, will announce its selection for prime minister “in the coming days,” al-Dabbagh said. He declined to identify the candidate. The Shiite bloc needs four more seats to reach the 163 needed for a majority in the 325-seat assembly.
State of Law had previously insisted al-Maliki should stay for another four years. The INA had opposed al-Maliki, favoring one of its own leaders. Committees were formed to represent al- Maliki’s and Allawi’s camps and were scheduled to meet in the next few days, al-Dabbagh said June 30.
Allawi’s Iraqiyah party, which was mostly backed by Sunni Muslim and secular voters, came first in the March elections, winning 91 of the 325 seats. State of Law came second, with 89 seats, and the INA third, with 70.
Biden is also scheduled to meet with the United Nations Secretary General’s Special Representative for Iraq, Ad Melkert, the White House statement said.
July 03, 2010, 5:02 PM ET
By Timothy R. Homan
July 4 (Bloomberg) -- Vice President Joe Biden is in Iraq to celebrate the July 4 holiday with U.S. troops and meet with Iraqi leaders, according to the White House.
Biden, a former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, will “discuss recent developments” with Iraqi political leaders including President Jalal Talabani, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, and Ayad Allawi, the head of the Iraqiyya party, the statement yesterday said.
Iraq’s parliament has failed to choose a prime minister and form a government since elections March 7. No group won enough seats to govern alone and political leaders have been seeking allies since the vote. The maneuvering coincides with U.S. preparations to cut its Iraq force to 50,000 from 86,000 by September, before a full withdrawal next year.
“With the paralysis in Iraqi politics right now, the goal is to encourage the Iraqis to put aside partisan sectarian differences and then begin to move on with the normal activities of governance,” said William Martel, a professor of international security studies at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. “The trip will also reaffirm our commitment to the U.S. troops there” at a time when “Iraq has moved off the radar screen for the American people.”
Increased Violence
Violence increased after the March election failed to produce a clear winner, though attacks haven’t reached the levels of 2006-2007 when the country tipped toward civil war. An Iraqi oil pipeline was bombed June 29, with no casualties. At least 27 people were killed June 20 when two car bombs exploded outside a state-owned trade bank in Baghdad, a week after al- Qaeda suicide bombers and gunmen stormed the Central Bank of Iraq, leaving at least 15 dead.
Under Iraq’s constitution, the largest bloc gets to form the government only if it has a premiership candidate. Two Shiite Muslim-led groups that merged in June to create the biggest bloc of seats in parliament have agreed on a candidate for prime minister, Ali al-Dabbagh, the official government spokesman and a member of the bloc, said June 30.
The Shiite National Alliance, which includes Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s State of Law party and the Iraqi National Alliance, will announce its selection for prime minister “in the coming days,” al-Dabbagh said. He declined to identify the candidate. The Shiite bloc needs four more seats to reach the 163 needed for a majority in the 325-seat assembly.
State of Law had previously insisted al-Maliki should stay for another four years. The INA had opposed al-Maliki, favoring one of its own leaders. Committees were formed to represent al- Maliki’s and Allawi’s camps and were scheduled to meet in the next few days, al-Dabbagh said June 30.
Allawi’s Iraqiyah party, which was mostly backed by Sunni Muslim and secular voters, came first in the March elections, winning 91 of the 325 seats. State of Law came second, with 89 seats, and the INA third, with 70.
Biden is also scheduled to meet with the United Nations Secretary General’s Special Representative for Iraq, Ad Melkert, the White House statement said.