US President Joe Biden received the Iraqi prime minister amid the Iran-Israel conflict that escalated over the weekend. He makes an embarrassing mistake.
Washington DC - Shortly after Mohammed al-Sudani, the Iraqi prime minister, stepped off the plane to visit US President Joe Biden in Washington on Saturday, Iran began its attack on Israel. The USA is massively supporting Israel in repelling the attack; according to US information, some drones and missiles are said to have been fired from Syria, Yemen and Iraq. It was the largest US defensive battle to date in the Middle East.
So the meeting between Biden and al-Sudani was quite explosive. After their meeting, the two heads of state gave a press conference on Monday - at which the US President suffered an embarrassment: Of all things in this highly complex situation, the US President involuntarily presented a look at the US strategy for Iraq.
Visit by Iraq's Prime Minister: What was on Joe Biden's note?
Joe Biden had prepared his press statement on a piece of paper, al-Sudani came to the press conference without a piece of paper. When Biden wanted to put the statement back in the breast pocket of his jacket, the faux pas happened: some words were later clearly visible in pictures. Marked with highlighter, underlined or even in capital letters.
First of all: The sections that have been made public do not contain any explosive content. There is something to be read about the US being “committed” to “security”, an excerpt shows the words “partner” and “Iraq”, the latter word appears twice and is underlined each time. Biden is not revealing anything.
US strategy vs. interests from the region? What will happen next between Iraq and the USA?
Washington says there are currently 2,400 US soldiers deployed in Iraq - Al-Sudani is calling for a troop withdrawal. He has been at the head of government since 2022 and has been supported along the way by pro-Iranian militias in Iraq. The official mandate of US troops in Iraq and Syria is to support the Iraqi government in the fight against the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS). According to observers, the USA's main aim is to limit Iran's influence with its troop presence in the region.
Biden and al-Sudani said after Monday's meeting that they discussed the coalition's "evolution" given the "significant progress" made in a decade. Further negotiations will now focus on issues such as the ongoing threat from IS, Baghdad's need for support and strengthening the Iraqi security forces, Biden and al-Sudani said. They announced that, against the background of these factors, they would determine “when and how” the anti-IS coalition’s mission in Iraq could end.
Before the War in Israel: The History of the Israel-Palestine Conflict in Pictures
Before the War in Israel: The History of the Israel-Palestine Conflict in Pictures
Biden's cheat sheet for the visit of Iraq's prime minister points towards a Biden-Trump duel
After al-Sudani's visit to the White House, Biden said at the press conference: "Our partnership is central to our nations, to the Middle East and, I believe, to the world." But the focus was also on the attack Iran on Israel, to which Biden emphasized: “Together with our partners, we repelled this attack.”
Israel wants to “make Iran nervous” after the attacks: You can read all the developments after Iran’s attack in the ticker.
And so Biden's cheat sheet is likely to have a different, domestic political explosiveness. Among other things, the word “break” written in capital letters can clearly be seen on the note. Biden is repeatedly exposed to accusations that he is no longer mentally fit - but Trump's mental fitness is also questioned. Will Joe Biden be US President again, or will he have to admit defeat to Donald Trump this time? The current polls on the US election campaign predict a neck-and-neck race. However, in mid-April, Biden's likely challenger, Donald Trump, lost approval in some important swing states. (dpa/kat)