BAGHDAD (AP):
A GERMAN hostage was released yesterday after spending nearly a month in captivity, while U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney conducted a surprise visit to Iraq and suggested the country's parliamentary election could open the way for an eventual withdrawal of American troops.
Violence flared around Iraq yesterday as a string of attacks killed about two dozen people, most of them in the capital.
Cheney's visit, under heavy security, was so secret that Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari was surprised when he met him at the U.S. ambassador's residence in the heavily fortified Green Zone.
UNIFY
"The participation levels all across the country were remarkable," Cheney said of last week's parliamentary elections after an hour-long briefing from American military commanders. "And that's exactly what needs to happen as you build a political structure in a self-governing Iraq that can unify the various segments of the population and ultimately take over responsibility for their own security."
Cheney met with Iraq's leaders and military commanders in the Green Zone and lunched with soldiers and gave a speech to troops.
