| |
| |
![]() |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
WASHINGTON: Vice-President Joe Biden vowed Saturday that the United States will not put Iraq on the "bottom shelf", even as the US military ramps up operations in Afghanistan and crises rumble on in North Korea, Iran and Pakistan.
Speaking shortly after his departure from Baghdad, Biden told a White House pool reporter that Iraq's political leaders were "very concerned that... they would be on the front burner."
Biden said he responded to the worries by saying: "Well, you're not," citing his presence in the country, where he assumed a new position as President Barack Obama's point man on Iraq, as a sign of the US commitment.
"To quote one of the four principals with whom I met: 'With your concerns with Afghanistan, Pakistan, Korea, we were concerned we were moved to the bottom shelf,'" Biden said, relating Iraqi fears.
"They're very concerned, very anxious that we pursue a strategic agreement with them, which has nothing to do with the military," Biden said. "They want us to be engaged with them in helping them realise their potential."
His comments came as Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said in comments directed at Biden: "We don't want other parties to interfere in this matter because it will cause complications," referring to the strife-torn country's national reconciliation process.
The US vice-president, Dabbagh said, "has to convey to President Obama the common desire of Iraqis to solve their problems together."
Since taking office in January, Obama has repeatedly emphasised the importance of winning the war in Afghanistan while working toward his pledge to remove all combat troops from Iraq by August 2010 and abide by an agreement with Baghdad to withdraw all US troops by the end of 2011.
While US troops largely withdrew from Iraqi cities and towns this week, around 4,000 Marines launched a massive operation in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province, a Taliban stronghold.
But Biden insisted the military withdrawal would not precipitate a diplomatic and political pullout. "There is unfinished political business that the Iraqis had to deal with," said Biden.
- AFP/yt
|
