Rice, In Iraq, Urges Patience
Says Iraqis Can Overcome Surge Of Violence
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Video Rice Urges Patience In Iraq U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice gave a press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jafaari on a heavily guarded surprise visit to Iraq on Sunday.
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Followers of the Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi army carry one of the bodies of 13 blindfolded and bound men who were found shot multiple times in the head execution style in Baghdad's Sadr City on Sunday. (AP)
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Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice speaks at a press conference held with Kurdish Democratic Party leader Massoud Barzani during a surprise visit to Irbil in Kurdish northern Iraq on Sunday. (AP)
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Rice was a chief architect of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq as White House national security adviser during President George W. Bush's first term and she accompanied Bush on his own surprise visit to Iraq on Thanksgiving Day 2003.
Rice said she wanted to discuss the new government's upcoming tasks including writing a constitution, as well as addressing the country's security and infrastructure needs.
Rice told reporters the August deadline to write a federal constitution was imposed by the Iraqis, not the United States. The continuing political situation and security challenges in Baghdad have complicated the process and some in the Iraqi government now say that deadline may not be realistic.
In Baghdad she had a full schedule of meetings planned with top government officials, including Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jafaari, Cabinet members and a group of deputy prime ministers.
The visit came as U.S. Marines wrapped up a weeklong campaign against insurgents along the Syrian border. It was the most intense fighting for U.S. forces in months.
"Yes, the insurgency is very violent, but you can beat insurgencies not just militarily," Rice told reporters. "You can beat them having a political alternative that is strong," and in which all Iraqis are invested, Rice said.
Rice was the first senior American official to visit the country since the new government was sworn in. Her trip was weeks in the planning, but kept secret, even from top State Department officials until the last minute.
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