The Conservative Cave
Current Events => Breaking News => Topic started by: TheSarge on April 20, 2008, 12:41:21 PM
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BAGHDAD — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice praised the Iraqi government Sunday for government-led assaults on radical militias, as the top U.S. diplomat made a surprise visit to Baghdad in a show of support for the country's leaders.
Rice's brief heavily guarded stop was not announced in advance, in keeping with security precautions adopted by all top U.S. officials who remain targets of the anti-American insurgents five years after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and the fall of Saddam Hussein.
Rice met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, his Kurdish president and other top officials. She was also honoring Americans killed in the Green Zone, the heavily protected compound that houses the U.S. embassy and much of the Iraqi central government.
During his meeting with Rice, al-Maliki said the assaults in Basra represent a strong blow to all lawbreakers, showing the determination to confront the militias, according to a press release by the prime minister's office.
President Jalal Talibani told Rice, "We are living in the Iraqi political spring."
Rice said it is "indeed a moment of opportunity, thanks to the courageous decision taken by the prime minister and a unified Iraqi leadership."
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,351858,00.html