President Obama on his last Iraq visit
By Angel Elliott, BET.com News Staff
President Obama made an unscheduled stop to Iraq on the last day of his European tour according to White House Pool Press traveling with him. Although Turkey was suppose to be his last stop before heading back to D.C. this afternoon, he reportedly had Air Force One land in the capitol city of Baghdad to directly reach out to Iraqi leaders.
Some credit President Obama’s election with his early denouncment of the unpopular war in Iraq. During his first 100 days in office, President Obama signed an executive order to withdraw most troops from the country by August 31st, 2010. In a compromise with legislators who didn’t agree with the order, Obama extended the deadline three months- assuring Americans that our Iraqi occupation would competely end by Demcember 2011.
This is President Obama’s first visit to Iraq as President of the United States, the last time he was came to the country was during his presidential campaign. Obama also made plans to visit troups stationed in the country, and in passing greeted some Iraqi civilians. President Obama’s first formal post inaugural interview went to Muslim TV network Al Arabiya;, where Obama said he would work hard to bridge the political and cultural gap between Islamic Nations and the United States.
“To the broader Muslim world what we are going to be offering is a hand of friendship…”, the President said during the interview. It seems as though Obama is following through on that promise in good faith.
