US vice president endorses Iraqi government fight against Al Qaeda

The United States vice-president, Joe Biden, lent his support to the Iraqi government's fight against Al Qaeda-affiliated militants in a phone call with prime minister Nouri Al Maliki.

WASHINGTON // US Vice President Joe Biden spoke by phone with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki and his frequent parliamentary critic, in a show of US concern about escalating violence in the country.

Mr Biden lent his support to Iraq’s fight against the local Al Qaeda branch, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and said in their discussion on Monday that he was concerned about those suffering from terrorism. He spoke positively about recent cooperation between Iraq’s military and tribal forces in Anbar, on the Syrian border, where Al Qaeda fighters are among the most formidable trying to topple President Bashar Al Assad.

“Prime Minister Maliki affirmed the importance of working closely with Iraq’s Sunni leaders and communities to isolate extremists,” the White House said.

With the US concerned about the sectarian nature of the growing violence, Mr Biden also spoke with Parliament Speaker Osama Al Nujaifi, a Sunni leader and frequent critic of Mr Al Maliki’s Shiite-led government. The two discussed ways to sustain cooperation between Sunni communities and the Shiite-led government, and Mr Al Nujaifi said he was committed to fighting terrorism, the White House said.

For Mr Biden, who was President Barack Obama’s point-man on the Iraq war, the phone calls reflected the unpleasant reality that violence has escalated two years after American forces departed. Late last year, Mr Al Maliki came to the White House requesting weapons and intelligence help to fight insurgents but left without any new announcement by Mr Obama.

Meanwhile, the White House has come under criticism in the US by those who question whether Iraq would be better off today had the US left a military presence in the country, as it is attempting to do in Afghanistan while it winds down its war there.

On Monday, White House spokesman Jay Carney pushed back, saying such violence in Iraq took place even when there were 150,000 US troops in the country. He said the US can assist, and will deliver more missiles and surveillance drones to Iraq this year, but insisted Iraq must take the lead.

“If members of Congress were suggesting that there should be American troops fighting and dying in Fallujah today, they should say so,” Mr Carney said. “The president doesn’t believe that.”

* Associated Press

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