Unannounced visit of US president Barack Obamato to Iraqi Capital Baghdad

   US media considered the goals behind this visit as meeting with the US commanders and troopers stationed in this country, and holding talks with Iraqi officials. Although Obama"s visit to Iraq has been termed as unexpected, but it could be foreseen that Obama would pay a visit to Iraq. In fact, by launching wide-scale publicity via presenting the plan for step by step pullout of US forces from Iraq within a period of 16 months throughout his election campaign, Obama managed to defeat his Republican rival in the race to White House.

However, following the start of his presidential term, Obama largely failed to deliver on his election vows. Due to US politicians" and military officials" stiff opposition to withdrawal of US forces form Iraq within 16 months, Obama was forced to announce he plans to pullout two third of 140,000 US troops stationed in Iraq by August 2010, while the remaining forces will stay in Iraq until the end of the year 2011, based on Washington-Baghdad security pact.

   Meanwhile, during the recent weeks, following the announcement of Obama"s strategy for gradual withdrawal of US forces from Iraq, some Iraqi cities, especially Baghdad, have been the scene of insecurities. Concurrently, military and political circles in the US have warned about the possible flare up of violence in Iraq. Analysts believe that these warnings are part of efforts to persuade Obama into revising his decision about the drawdown of US forces in Iraq.

   Meanwhile, hopes of fundamental changes in US Iraq Policy have faded inside Iraq. Furthermore, Obama has mounted pressure on Maleki administration to reinstate Baathists, which goes to show that Obama"s main strategy may be to fill the vacuum resulting from the drawdown of US forces by reinstating Baathists and further interfering in Iraq"s future parliamentary election in order to somehow secure the victory of the secular pro-US faction in this vote.