Biden in Iraq "optimistic" on reconciliation (Roundup)

Jul 3, 2009, 13:53 GMT

Baghdad - US Vice President Joe Biden said that he was 'optimistic' about Iraq's prospects for stability and security, as he met with US and Iraqi officials in Baghdad Friday.

Biden met first with the commander of US forces in Iraq, Ray Odierno, whose forces withdrew from Iraqi cities as planned on June 30.

'I am optimistic,' Biden said. 'I think the Iraqis have become invested in their nationhood ... I think they've become invested in the idea that they want to run their own lives, that they want to be in charge.'

Biden, who previously chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has visited Iraq several times. But this surprise trip, which began Thursday, is the first since his inauguration as vice president.

Biden said his visit is to help him reestablish contact with Iraqi leaders, and to foster a climate of political reconciliation.

US President Barack Obama recently asked Biden to be his 'point man' inside the White House on Iraq policy, the vice president told reporters accompanying him as he landed in Baghdad.

Biden is also due meet with President Jalal Talabani, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and other officials to nudge along negotiations on long-term stability in Iraq.

Biden, who said this trip will be the first of several to the region as vice president, also plans to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday with troops stationed there.

Obama and his generals are publicly optimistic that Iraqi forces are capable of handling security challenges, despite the recent spate of violence, but have expressed deeper concerns about the lack of progress by Iraqi leaders in tackling a host of thorny issues.

The Iraqi government is still struggling to overcome differences between Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds over how to share oil revenue and how much power Baghdad should share with provincial governments - issues that are considered essential to alleviating the tension between the groups.

An Iraqi lawmaker described Friday Biden's visit to Iraq as a message from Washington that it is still interested in Iraq.

'Biden's visit reflects the US administration's interest in the political situation in Iraq,' Iraqi lawmaker Abbas al-Bayati told the German Press Agency dpa.

However Bayati added 'we need confirmation from the US administration that they will abide by the security agreement, especially the full withdrawal from Iraq on the dates agreed upon in the agreement,' added al-Bayati.

Under the security agreement worked out by George W Bush's administration last year with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, all US forces must leave Iraq by the end of 2011.