Biden visits Iraq to try to end gridlock

July 4, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Associated Press

BAGHDAD

Vice President Joe Biden returned Saturday to Iraq to coax its government into picking a new prime minister, months after elections left the nascent democracy in a state of gridlock as the U.S. prepares to pull out its troops.

Biden’s trip — his fifth since he was elected vice president, and his second this year — signals Washington’s growing impatience with Iraq’s stalled political process since the March 7 vote. The Iraqi election failed to produce a clear winner, and competing political alliances have been angling to secure an edge in parliament — mostly through backroom deals that leave voters out of the process.

The vice president was upbeat upon arrival, downplaying concerns that the impasse would lead to a crisis.

“This is local politics,” Biden told reporters in brief remarks at the sprawling U.S. military base west of Baghdad known as Camp Victory. “This is not a lot different than any other government.”

He added: “I remain, as I have from the beginning, extremely optimistic about the government being formed here.”