Biden Off to Iraq

So that’s what he meant by “Southwest Asia”! Joe Biden, in his last trip abroad before being sworn in as vice president, will visit three of the countries sure to be at the top of the Obama administration’s agenda: Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. He stressed today his mission is strictly fact finding. “What I hope to accomplish is to get a sort of baseline. This will be my God-knows-how-many trips, I guess my 10th or 11th trip into Iraq, and I don’t know how many times in Afghanistan and Pakistan,” he said today. “And I think it’s very important that we have sort of an independent baseline as to where things stand.” He’ll be joined on the trip later this week by Senators Kerry, Reed, Collins, and Graham.