VP Biden Meets Iraqi Leaders to Mark US Troop Drawdown

31 August 2010

US Vice President Joe Biden, left, speaks with Gen. Ray Odierno, the top US commander in Iraq, right, with Iraqi foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, center, in Baghdad, Iraq, 30 Aug 2010

The U.S. vice president met quietly with Iraq's top leaders Tuesday in a bid to jump-start stalled talks to form a new government, more than five months after inconclusive parliamentary elections. His visit to Baghdad coincides with the formal end of U.S. combat operations in Iraq.

Iraq's outgoing caretaker, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, hailed the symbolic event while insisting that his country has once again become a sovereign and independent state.

He said the application of the withdrawal agreement of foreign forces constitutes the main step to restoring complete Iraqi sovereignty and achieving the Iraqi people's aspirations in setting up a free, independent and prosperous state.

Mr. Maliki also urged Iraq's quarreling leaders and political parties to come together. He called on all Iraqi political parties to unite in the battle against terrorism and in rebuilding the state and its security forces. That battle, he insisted, cannot be won without national unity.

A recent wave of violence - including simultaneous, coordinated carbombings - has revived fears of ordinary Iraqis worried about their security as U.S. combat forces withdraw.