Obama to visit Iraq, Afghanistan

DETROIT, June 17 (UPI) -- Likely Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama says visits to Iraq and Afghanistan are on his campaign agenda.

Obama, D-Ill., announced his plans during a campaign swing in Michigan. He said he was encouraged by the recent reduction in violence in Iraq after speaking by phone with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Voice of America reported Tuesday.

Obama also renewed his pledge to begin withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq soon after he takes office if he is elected U.S. president in November.

The Obama campaign says it's been considering an overseas trip for a while and has been pushed by presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. Republicans have been critical of Obama's foreign policy, particularly his pledge to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq sooner rather than later. In addition, the Republican National Committee's Web site is counting the days since Obama last visited Iraq -- 891 days as of Tuesday.

McCain has said Obama's plans for withdrawal would lead to a U.S. defeat in the Middle Eastern country. He has pledged to keep U.S. troops in Iraq as long as necessary.