CNN - Obama makes unannounced stop in Baghdad

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Obama makes unannounced stop in Baghdad

President Obama made an unannounced visit to Iraq on Tuesday.

The top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. Ray Odierno, met Obama shortly after Air Force One landed in Baghdad about 4:42 p.m. local time (9:42 a.m. ET).

It's "great to see the troops," Obama said shortly after landing. "They're putting their heart and soul into the effort."

The main purpose of Obama's stop was to visit U.S. troops, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs noted. Among other things, Obama will participate in the awarding of 10 medals of valor while in Baghdad.

But Obama also wanted to discuss Iraq's political situation with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and Iraqi President Jalal Talibani, Gibbs added.

Obama planned to meet with al-Maliki at the U.S. military's Camp Victory base.

Another reason Obama chose to visit Iraq rather than Afghanistan is because of Iraq's proximity to Turkey, which Obama just visited, said Gibbs.

During the campaign season, Obama visited Iraq on a multi-stop overseas trip. That trip also included stops in Afghanistan, Jordan, Israel, Germany, France and the United Kingdom.

Obama's surprise stop in Iraq came at the conclusion of his first overseas trip as president.

In Obama's last scheduled stop in Turkey, the president held a joint news conference with Turkish President Abdullah Gul and addressed the Turkish parliament. Obama's trip to Turkey was his first presidential visit to a Muslim country.

Obama arrived in Europe last week for a series of summits.

He first met with world leaders at the G-20 summit in London to discuss the global financial crisis.

At the NATO summit in France and Germany, the president was hoping to get a boost in resources for the war in Afghanistan. He did get allies to pledge about 5,000 troops, but in the form of police and security trainers -- not combat troops.

In Prague, Czech Republic, at the European Union summit, Obama delivered a speech about nuclear nonproliferation to more than 20,000 people -- a boisterous crowd reminiscent of the campaign.

He even used the old campaign line "Yes, we can" to answer critics who think he can't follow through on ridding the world of nuclear weapons.

A new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll found that 79 percent of Americans surveyed feel that Obama has had a "more positive" effect on how people in other countries view the U.S. Only 19 percent of those surveyed thought he's had a "more negative" effect.

The poll also indicated that only 35 percent of Americans currently approve of the U.S. war in Iraq; 65 percent disapprove.

Almost seven in 10 Americans agree with Obama's plan to remove most U.S. troops from Iraq by next August, while leaving a residual force of between 35,000 and 50,000 troops.