Updated: Obama Stops In Baghdad, But Won’t Go To Afghanistan, Makes Maliki Drive To Meet Him At Aiport - With Video

Apr 7, 2009 9 Comments ›› Pat Dollard

Obama has landed unannounced in Baghdad.

The White House issued a statement that he would meet U.S. commanders and troops, and speak to Iraqi leaders by telephone.

The White House said he would call the Iraqi leaders because of concerns about helicopter travel in bad weather .

Obama flew into the country hours after a car bomb exploded in a Shiite neighborhood of the capital city for the third day in a row. 33 people were killed yesterday, in a spree that coincides with the increasing departure of U.S. troops

Developing…

AP Update:

resident Obama, in a surprise visit to Iraq Tuesday at the tail end of a marathon overseas trip, met with the top U.S. commander in the country and thanked U.S. troops for putting their “heart and souls” into the mission.

The president landed in Baghdad late Tuesday afternoon local time and visited Camp Victory. He was greeted upon arrival by Gen. Ray Odierno. This is Obama’s first trip to Iraq as president — it comes as he begins to execute plans to shift U.S. troops from Iraq, a war he opposed as a candidate, to Afghanistan.

“There is still a lot of work to do here,” Obama said, but he praised the political progress he’s seen in Iraq.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki plans to travel to Camp Victory to meet with Obama. Obama also will speak with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani by phone, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said.

Gibbs said Obama chose to visit Iraq rather than Afghanistan because it was closer to Turkey, where he was flying from, and provides Obama to opportunity to consult with Iraqi officials about critical “political solutions.” Gibbs said Obama also wanted to visit troops still fighting in the country.

“Our men and women who are in harm’s way, either in Iraq or Afghanistan, deserve our utmost respect and appreciation,” Gibbs said.

Obama flew into the country hours after a car bomb exploded in a Shiite neighborhood of the capital city,

The visit came at the conclusion of a long overseas trip that included economic and NATO summits in Europe and two days in Turkey.

Shortly before leaving Turkey, the president held out Iraq as an example of the change he seeks in policies inherited from former President George W. Bush.

“Moving the ship of state takes time,” he told a group of students in Istanbul. He noted his long-standing opposition to the war, yet said, “Now that we’re there,” the U.S. troop withdrawal has to be done “in a careful enough way that we don’t see a collapse into violence.”

In office only 11 weeks, Obama has already announced plans to withdraw most U.S. combat troops on a 19-month timetable. The drawdown is to begin slowly, so American forces can provide security for Iraqi elections, then accelerate in 2010. As many as 50,000 troops are expected to remain in the country at the end of the 19 months to perform counterterrorism duties.

Tuesday’s trip was Obama’s third to Iraq overall. He met with U.S. commanders and troops last summer while seeking the presidency.

Because of security concerns, the White House made no advance announcement of the visit, and released no details for his activities on the ground.

It was the last stop of an eight-day trip overseas during which Obama sought to place his stamp on U.S. foreign policy.

He and other world leaders pledged cooperation to combat a global recession, and he appealed with limited success for additional assistance in Afghanistan, a war he has vowed to intensify.

The new president drew large crowds as he offered repeated assurances that the United States would not seek to dictate to other countries.

“I am personally committed to a new chapter of American engagement. We can’t afford to talk past one another, to focus only on our differences, or to let the walls of mistrust go up around us.” Obama said before leaving Turkey. The visit to a nation that straddles Europe and Asia was designed to signal a new era. He had pledged as a candidate to visit a majority-Muslim nation in his first 100 days in office.