Obama's Iraq Visit Brings War Back to the Forefront

[babylonsister]

Iraq makes a news comeback




Obama's Iraq Visit Brings War Back to the Forefront
Chris Cillizza


President Obama's decision to detour from his planned trip home from Turkey today to make a brief stop in Iraq comes amid a series of polls that suggest the conflict has faded as a priority in the minds of most Americans.

In a mid-March CNN poll, just six percent named the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as the nation's most pressing priority -- roughly one tenth the percentage of people who chose the economy (63 percent).

With that as a backdrop, Obama's decision to stop off in Iraq seems to be aimed at reminding people of the struggles and sacrifices still happening in the region as he prepares to ramp up America's military presence in Afghanistan.

Obama is scheduled to meet with General Ray Odierno, commander of forces in Iraq, at Camp Victory as well as personally award medals of honors to a handful of soldiers.

The visuals likely to come out of this side trip will be powerful, and the visit is sure to dominate news coverage on a day when most people expected no news from the White House given the logistics of his travel back to the United States.

And, coming just one day after the first public viewing of a soldier killed in Iraq (the first time such an event was open to the public since 1990), the trip reminds Americans of the ongoing war and the sacrifices being made by the soldiers serving there.

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http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/white-house/obamas-iraq-side-trip.html?hpid=topnews

[Cha]

1. I'm so glad Prez Obama made that

"surprise" visit over to Iraq to see our troops!