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Barack Obama arrives in Baghdad Barack Obama arrives in Baghdad
(40 minutes later)
US Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has arrived in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, on the second stage of a major foreign tour.US Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has arrived in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, on the second stage of a major foreign tour.
Mr Obama, who is visiting as part of a Congressional delegation, will meet senior Iraqi officials, military leaders and US embassy officials.Mr Obama, who is visiting as part of a Congressional delegation, will meet senior Iraqi officials, military leaders and US embassy officials.
They will also meet service personnel and civilian staff working in Iraq.They will also meet service personnel and civilian staff working in Iraq.
On Sunday, Mr Obama said during a visit to Kabul that Afghanistan had to be the central focus of the "war on terror".On Sunday, Mr Obama said during a visit to Kabul that Afghanistan had to be the central focus of the "war on terror".
He told the US television channel, CBS, that the situation in Afghanistan, where Nato-led troops face a growing insurgency by the Taleban, was "precarious and urgent". He told the US television channel, CBS, that the situation in the country, where Nato-led troops face a growing insurgency by the Taleban, was "precarious and urgent".
Mr Obama was visiting the Afghan capital, Kabul, where he held talks with President Hamid Karzai. Mr Obama has advocated the withdrawal of US combat troops from Iraq within 16 months of taking office should he be elected president in November.
The Illinois senator is visiting a series of countries over the next week in an attempt to bolster his foreign policy credentials ahead of the US presidential election in November. The Illinois senator is visiting a series of countries over the next week in an attempt to bolster his foreign policy and security credentials.
He is also due to visit Jordan, Israel, Germany, France and the UK.
'Time horizon'
Mr Obama touched down in Baghdad along with two of his Senate colleagues, Jack Reed and Chuck Hagel, who along with him have been long-time critics of the US military's involvement in Iraq.
[Mr Obama] is stubbornly adhering to an unconditional withdrawal that places politics above the advice of our military commanders, the success of our troops, and the security of the American people Randy ScheunemannAdviser for John McCain Pitfalls for Obama on world tour
The delegation is expected to meet Prime Minister Nouri Maliki as well as the top US military commander in Iraq, Gen David Petraeus, and other US officials.
On Sunday, the Iraqi government denied that Mr Maliki had told a German magazine in an interview that he backed Mr Obama's plan to withdraw combat troops within 16 months, saying his remarks had been misunderstood.
Last week, Mr Maliki and US President George W Bush said they had agreed to set a "time horizon" for the withdrawal as part of a security pact still being negotiated.
Any decision to remove troops would be based on "improving conditions", not an "arbitrary date", the White House said.
Violence in Iraq is at its lowest level since 2004, although frequent attacks continue throughout the country. More than 50 people died in two separate twin suicide bombings last week.
Afghanistan 'focus'
Speaking in an interview before he met Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Mr Obama said some of the troops withdrawn from Iraq ought to be sent to Afghanistan to reinforce efforts there against a resurgent Taleban and to control spiralling violence.
TRUSTED ON MIDDLE EAST Americans with more trust in one candidate than the other to handle the situation involving - Iraq: McCain 47%, Obama 45%Iran: McCain 46%, Obama 44%Israel and the Palestinians: McCain 44%, Obama 42% Source: Washington Post/ABC News, 10-13 July Vote USA 2008: Foreign policy
"We have to understand that the situation is precarious and urgent and I believe this has to be the central focus, the central front, in the battle against terrorism," he told the CBS programme, Face the Nation.
Mr Obama said President Bush's administration had allowed itself to be distracted by a "war of choice" but now was the time to correct the mistake.
He said the US needed to start planning immediately to send in more troops and called for an extra one to two brigades in Afghanistan.
"I think the situation is getting urgent enough that we have got to start doing something now," he added.
Mr Obama's Republican presidential rival, John McCain, has criticised him for announcing a strategy before visiting the region and for setting a date for a US withdrawal from Iraq.
Mr McCain's foreign policy adviser, Randy Scheunemann, said Mr Obama was "stubbornly adhering to an unconditional withdrawal that places politics above the advice of our military commanders, the success of our troops, and the security of the American people".