Biden marks Independence Day with troops in Iraq

US Vice President Joe Biden marked Independence Day with American troops at a palace of ex-dictator Saddam Hussein on Sunday and then started crucial talks with the two men vying to lead Iraq.Speaking to soldiers in the rotunda of Al-Fao Palace, a jewel in the era of the ousted Iraqi president that is now part of US military base Camp Victory, just north of Baghdad, an upbeat Biden relished the symbolism.

US Vice President Joe Biden was Sunday marking Independence Day with American troops in Iraq ahead of talks later in the day with the two men vying to lead the conflict-wracked nation's next government.Biden, on day two of his second trip to Baghdad this year, had on Saturday said he was "extremely optimistic" Iraq's politicians could resolve their differences despite a four-month impasse since a deadlocked general election.

US Vice President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that American forces had begun a new mission in Iraq, the day after the US combat role in the war-torn country officially came to an end."Operation Iraqi Freedom is over but American engagement with Iraq will continue with the mission that began today, Operation New Dawn," Biden told US troops at Camp Victory, outside of Baghdad.

US Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Iraq on Saturday for a surprise visit aimed at bolstering the war-torn country's fledgling democracy almost four months after an inconclusive election.Biden was greeted by US ambassador to Baghdad Christopher Hill, US commander in Iraq General Ray Odierno and Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari upon his arrival at about 5:30 pm (1430 GMT).Biden and his wife Jill, who is on her first trip to Iraq, "have arrived in Iraq to celebrate the Fourth of July with US troops," said a statement issued by the White House.

Two US soldiers were killed and five other American troops wounded during combat operations in northern Iraq, the military said on Thursday.The deaths occurred during a patrol on Wednesday, a US army statement said, adding that the five injured soldiers are being treated in hospital.In total, 4,389 American troops have died since the beginning of the US-led invasion which ousted dictator Saddam Hussein from power in 2003, according to an AFP tally based on the independent website www.icasualties.org.

Vice President Joe Biden launched a new American military mission in Iraq on Wednesday, opening up a fresh phase in a seven-year deployment that has cost the lives of more than 4,400 US troops.Addressing soldiers near Baghdad a day after the US combat role officially ended, Biden sought to rally the nearly 50,000 American troops who will remain in the country until a total withdrawal at the end of 2011.

Vice President Joe Biden launched a new American military mission in Iraq on Wednesday, ushering in a fresh phase in a seven-year deployment that has cost the lives of more than 4,400 troops.Addressing soldiers near Baghdad a day after the US combat role here officially ended, Biden sought to rally the near 50,000 American soldiers who will remain in the country until a total withdrawal at the end of 2011.

President Barack Obama's administration on Tuesday sought to allay fears in Baghdad that a dramatic upping of the war effort in Afghanistan would come at the expense of its Iraq commitment.Just hours before Obama was to announce a surge of 30,000 more troops to the Afghanistan, the White House said Vice President Joe Biden had called Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in a bid to assuage Iraqi concerns."The Vice President stressed that US actions to reinforce Afghanistan will not come at the expense of the US-Iraq bilateral relationship," a White House statement said.