Biden Lands In Iraq To Mark End Of War

By Andrea Salazar

Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Baghdad Tuesday in a surprise visit to mark the end of the war.

During his visit, Biden will meet with Iraqi officials to discuss the future of U.S.-Iraq relations. The Vice President will also speak at an event commemorating the sacrifices and accomplishments of U.S. and Iraqi troops.

As President Obama announced in October, all U.S. combat troops will leave Iraq by Dec. 31. 

This is Biden’s eighth trip to Iraq as Vice President.

Palin Invokes Orwell In Preview Of Obama's Iraq Speech

Former Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin tweeted today that President Barack Obama is attempting to re-write the history books by taking credit for ending America’s combat mission in Iraq.

“Obama speech tonite may make u dig out ur old Orwell books so rewritten history can be deciphered, depending on who gets credit 4 Iraq surge,” read Palin’s tweet.

The outspoken conservative was referring to George Orwell, the author of 1984, a fictional novel which portrayed a dystopian society created by the totalitarian regime of a socialist party.

The President’s address to the nation will be televised tonight starting at 8:00pm.

White House: No Timetable For Formation Of Iraqi Government

A White House spokesman told reporters traveling aboard Air Force One today that the Obama administration will not set a certain date by which Iraq’s new government must be in place.

“We’re not going to put a timetable on government formation,” Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said. “What we are saying, though, is that Iraq should move forward with a sense of urgency around government formation, that it’s time to get down to some of these core issues.”

Parties of both current Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his opponent, Ayad Allawi, won enough seats in March’s elections to form governments, yet no action by either side has taken place. Rhodes said President Obama will discuss the need for Iraq to address this challenge during his roughly 15-minute televised address to the nation tonight…

Obama Calls Bush On Eve Of Primetime Address

A White House spokesman confirmed today that President Barack Obama phoned former President George W. Bush this morning in advance of Obama’s address to the nation tonight. The 44th and 43rd Presidents spoke for just a few minutes during the former’s flight down to Texas. Details of the conversation have yet to be released…

Biden: Media Overplaying Violence In Iraq

During a meeting in Baghdad this morning with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden touted the security condition of the war-torn nation.

“Notwithstanding what the national press says about increased violence, the truth is things are still very much different,” he said. “Things are much safer.”

Biden referred to a series of attacks last Wednesday that killed 55 Iraqi civilians in different parts of the country as “dismal.”

The Vice President’s visit to Iraq, his fifth since taking office, purposely coincides with the withdrawal of the last U.S. combat brigade from there. The U.S. now has a total of 50,000 troops in Iraq…