Iraq's feuding leaders may be nudged toward political compromise by one hard fact: as the U.S. military occupation ends, Iraq still badly needs American help to rebuild, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said on Sunday.
"Once they realized that their old buddy Joe wasn't coming to impose something on them, they were then willing to say, 'We need you to help us,'" Biden said.
| Oh. Come. On. Does he really talk like that? |
Biden's hopeful words were repeatedly put to the test during his brief trip. On Friday, hundreds of supporters of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr paraded through a Baghdad slum burning U.S. flags, a sign that not all Iraqis are persuaded of America's good intentions.
Biden spoke to both by phone and officials said he planned further in-depth discussions with them by phone this week.
"My impression is that they feel very comfortable," he said. "The fact that I'm vice president of the United States is very reassuring to them."
Well I'm glad somebody is reassured by that... |