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From: White House Press Office [mailto:noreply@messages.whitehouse.gov]
Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2011 5:10 PM
To: Owens, Missy
Subject: FW: VPOTUS pool report #10 - News


From: Carol Lee2 [mailto:clee2@politico.com]
Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2011 4:52 PM
To: eallen@ovp.eop.goc; Carney, Jay; Mead, Andrea D.; Dudley, Amy
Subject: VPOTUS pool report #10 - News


Baghdad, Iraq
January 13, 2011

Vice President Biden is in Baghdad.

AF2, which for today is a C-17, was wheels down at 12:43 am local time. (Baghdad is 8 hours ahead of Eastern time.)

Earlier in Islamabad, VPOTUS's motorcade arrived at Pakistan Air Force Base shortly after 8 pm local time.

One of VPOTUS's limos pulled up to the traditional blue-and-white AF2 on the tarmac, positioned at the foot of the stairs, which were covered. The other continued on to a C-17 parked mostly out of view to anyone looking at the blue and white AF2. When pool boarded the C-17, VPOTUS was already on board in a steel, trailer-like cabin set up in the middle of the aircraft.

At 8:20 pm the C-17 was wheels up en route to Baghdad.

From WH re Iraq vist:

While here, the Vice President will meet with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Iraqiyya leader Ayad Allawi, President Jalal Talabani, Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi, and other political leaders.

In December, Iraq’s political leaders and the Council of Representatives formed a new, inclusive national partnership government. The United States ended its combat mission in Iraq on August 31, 2010, having drawn down to fewer than 50,000 troops from approximately 144,000 in January 2009. The remaining troops are advising and assisting Iraq’s security forces, conducting partnered counter-terrorism operations, and protecting U.S. civilians. In accordance with an agreement between the U.S. and Iraqi governments, all U.S. forces will leave Iraq by December 31, 2011. At the same time, the United States is increasing its diplomatic, political and economic engagement with Iraq, opening consulates and branch offices throughout the country and pursuing important programs to help train Iraq’s police and judiciary and to build strong business and investment ties.

This is the Vice President’s seventh trip to Iraq since January 2009.

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