Obama visits U.S. troops in Iraq

美國總統(tǒng)奧巴馬7日在事先未宣布的情況下突然飛抵巴格達，對伊拉克進行訪問。這是奧巴馬上任以來首次訪問伊拉克。
當?shù)孛襟w報道說，奧巴馬當?shù)貢r間7日下午乘“空軍一號”專機飛抵巴格達國際機場，駐伊美軍最高指揮官奧迪爾諾在機場迎接。據(jù)報道，奧巴馬將同伊拉克總理馬利基等伊高級官員就伊局勢交換看法。此外，他還將同駐伊美軍高級將領舉行會晤。
奧巴馬是在結束了對歐洲以及土耳其的一連串訪問后，從土耳其伊斯坦布爾飛抵巴格達的。
奧巴馬今年2月宣布，美國將在明年8月31日前從伊拉克撤離大部分軍隊，結束在伊拉克的作戰(zhàn)任務。留下約3.5萬至5萬非作戰(zhàn)部隊將主要從事訓練和指導伊拉克軍隊的工作。2011年年底前，所有美國軍人將從伊拉克撤回。

Visiting U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday told his troops in Iraq to be critical in next 18-month period of their mission in the war-torn country.
Obama, who arrived in the Iraqi capital earlier in the day, made the remarks in a speech to the troops while he inspected the sprawling U.S. military base, Camp Victory, on the outskirts of Baghdad, according to media reports.
The next 18 months "is going to be a critical period," Obama said, referring to the deadline for the withdrawal of all U.S. combat troops from Iraq by August 2010.
He urged the U.S. troops to bear responsibilities to make sure Iraq is stable before the withdrawal, saying Iraq "is not a safe haven for terrorists, and we can start bringing our folks home."
Meanwhile, he also called on Iraqis to take responsibility for the country of their own.
Earlier, Obama said U.S. have made significant progress but there is still a lot of work to do in Iraq after he arrived in Baghdad.
Obama flew Baghdad in the afternoon from Istanbul at the end of his week-long international tour, making his first visit to Iraq since he took office three months ago.
He was received at the Baghdad airport by top U.S. troops commander in Iraq Gen. Ray Odierno and immediately left to a nearby U.S. military camp.
Obama is also expected to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki at the base just outside the capital after Obama cancelled his plan to fly with a helicopter to the heavily fortified Green Zone in central Baghdad.
His visit comes amid a new wave of car bombings in the war-torn country as the U.S. military is starting to draw down troops.