President Obama today made an unannounced stop in Baghdad, after spending the past two days in Turkey. The visit marks his third to Iraq, and his first since taking office. CNN reports that although there was considerable speculation that Obama might stop in Iraq, details of the President’s plans weren’t released ahead of time. Watch it:
Obama’s visit comes a month after he announced that that U.S. troops would withdraw from Iraq by 2010. Iraqi leaders welcomed this development, saying that Obama’s plan was “responsible and realistic.” In contrast, President Bush’s final visit to Iraq was marked by an Iraqi journalist throwing a shoe at him.
Update
CNN reports that Iraq’s federal appeals court has reduced the sentence for Muntader al-Zaidi, the man who threw his shoes at Bush. Zaidi will now serve one year instead of three.
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