Biden marks end of Iraq combat role

BAGHDAD, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Baghdad Monday to mark the formal end of U.S. combat operations in Iraq, and to try to foster formation of a new government.

After commemorating the Aug. 31 end of the 7 1/2-year U.S. combat mission, the White House said, Biden will meet with leaders in Iraq, which has been unable to form a government more than five months after a national election.

Fewer than 50,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq, down from 144,000 in January 2009, the White House said. They will advise and assist Iraq's security forces, participate in counter-terrorism operations and protect U.S. civilians.

All U.S. forces are to leave Iraq by Dec. 31, 2011, under an agreement between the two countries.

On his sixth trip to Iraq since January 2009, Biden stepped out of a plane and into 113-degree heat to be greeted by Jim Jeffrey, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Gen. Ray Odierno, the outgoing American commander, and Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari.

During his Iraq stay, Biden is to meet with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Ayad Allawi, the leader of the Iraqiya coalition, President Jalal Talaban and other Iraqi leaders. The White House said U.S. officials would focus on the latest developments in Iraq and "urge Iraqi leaders to conclude negotiations on the formation of a new government."

Biden's arrival in Iraq came on the eve of U.S. President Barack Obama's planned Oval Office address Tuesday on the end of U.S. combat operations in Iraq.