Mr. Biden last visited Iraq in 2011 to mark the end of the war there as the United States prepared to complete the withdrawal of America forces. The Obama administration has stepped up its military role with more troops and equipment in hopes of putting Iraq on a better path as President Barack Obama prepares to leave office in January.Though theres been progress in wresting back territory from IS and weakening its leadership, senior USA officials traveling with Biden said any lost momentum will likely be due to political unrest rather than military shortcomings.
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Islamic State seized large portions of Iraq and neighbouring Syria in 2014. Iraqi forces have won back some of the territory, such as the provincial capital of Ramadi, but often after long battles that have left the cities destroyed. “This seemed like a good moment to do it”, the official said.
The vice president has close relationships with Iraqi leaders and speaks with them about every 10 days. Biden said he was “very optimistic”, though US officials predict a long road ahead.
“Now is not the time for government gridlock or bickering”, he said.
While in Iraq, Biden will meet with political leaders and is “focused on encouraging Iraqi national unity and continued momentum in the fight against ISIL”, according to a White House statement, using a different term for ISIS.
“It’s real. It’s serious. Once we get into July and August, it starts to get pretty hot in Iraq and things start to slow down”, the USA official said, suggesting a big push on Mosul was still months away.
“The vice president has been the point person on Iraq for the administration since the beginning”, a senior administration official told reporters traveling with the vice president.
Iraq will need billions in aid to help reconstruct regions shattered by warfare, but USA officials fear that such aid will not be forthcoming until donor countries perceive that Iraq’s politics are more settled.
Biden’s trip also served to counter a “misperception in the region” that Iran, which backs powerful Shi’ite Muslim militias fighting Islamic State in Iraq, has undue influence in the nation, the USA official added.
Mr. Abadi has faced significant resistance in his attempts to appoint a cabinet to fulfill pledges to introduce political reforms and combat corruption.
“They’re not able to amass forces like they used to”, the official said.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Secretary of State John Kerry also made unannounced visits to Iraq this month.
“It’s been a pretty all-consuming political affair”, a senior USA official told reporters, noting recent signs of a “calmer trajectory” in the drama. The Iraqi government was forced to redeploy troops from the front-lines of the Islamic State’s territory to ensure security in Baghdad during the protests.
President Barack Obama has predicted Mosul will be in position to eventually fall by the end of the year.
The White House is concerned that not enough is being spent to rebuild parts of Iraq devastated by the fight, a deficit made worse by the low price of oil, Iraq’s main revenue source.
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The United Nations is urgently seeking $400 million from Washington and its allies for reconstruction. He told reporters that he and the speaker would discuss progress against Daesh, an Arabic acronym for IS. Gulf countries preferred to wait and see whether Iraq could get its political act together before agreeing to help.Aiming to build on recent progress in retaking territory from IS, the US this month agreed to deploy more than 200 additional troops to Iraq, bringing the authorized total to just over 4,000, and to send Apache helicopters into the fight.
