Three bomb explosions in the capital sully U.S. vice-president Joe Biden's visit. The explosion had killed two demonstrators. Biden's sudden trip marked the first visit of a high-ranking officials from Iraq last month approved the new Cabinet, ending the political deadlock that plagued his government and start a post-election March.
Biden's visit to world hot spots that previously took him to Kabul, where he met Afghan President Hamid Karzai, and to Islamabad to meet with Pakistani officials. Biden on Thursday morning met with the top U.S. commander in Iraq Gen. Lloyd Austin and U.S. Ambassador James Jeffrey in the U.S. Embassy in the 'Green Zone' Baghdad's heavily guarded.
When asked why he was to Iraq, Biden said: "I am here to help Iraqis celebrate the progress they make. They form a government. And that's a good thing. They have a long road ahead."
Biden arrived from Pakistan in the Iraqi capital on Wednesday night, according to reporters who travel with him. White House says Biden will also meet President Jalal Talabani and Iyad Allawi, a Shiite Muslim bloc leading the Iraqiya and won the most votes in Iraqi elections last year.
This visit comes days after radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who has a strong influence in Iraqi politics, urging the masses to fight the "occupation" by all means the U.S. in his first speech since returning home to the holy city of Najaf.
Maliki agreed to a second term by parliament on December 21, along with a national unity cabinet after a nine-months of political deadlock. Although combat operations were officially ended, about 50,000 U.S. troops still remain in the country.
American soldiers were allowed to return fire to defend themselves and take part in operations if requested by their Iraqi counterparts under the terms of the bilateral security treaty. In Islamabad, Biden delivered a message of support to the important anti-terror ally Pakistan, saying the country is that America is "not an enemy of Islam."
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