Biden has ‘faith’ Iraqi troops will be ready for handover

Vice President Joe Biden expressed confidence Tuesday that the U.S. will be able to withdraw from Iraq as planned at the end of 2011.



Biden, who is in Baghdad to preside over official ceremonies recognizing the end of U.S. combat operations, said he believed the U.S. would be able to leave Iraq as planned when the country’s forces are fully trained and equipped.



”We have a written agreement with the Iraqi government, signed by George W. Bush, binding President Barack Obama to withdraw all troops by the end of next year,” he said on “Good Morning America” on ABC. “Now in the process of that, we’re not leaving Iraq. We still have 50,000 troops in place, who can shoot straight, who are totally capable of combat if that became necessary in the interim.



”But we have faith that the Iraqi troops that our sacrifices have allowed to be trained can be ready, and will be increasingly capable of providing total security to this country by the end of next year,” the vice president added.





The vice president hit the networks’ morning shows to underscore President Obama’s Oval Office address Tuesday evening about “turning the page” on the Iraq conflict.

Biden said on CBS that he is optimistic the Iraqis will finally be able to form a government soon, after months of stalled negotiations over election results earlier this year. Such a move could be a major boost to stabilizing the country’s political system.



“I’ve met with every one of the groups that won portions of the vote in the elections and I’m absolutely convinced that they are nearing the ability of forming a government, that will be a government representing the outcome of the election, which was very much divided,” he said on “The Early Show.”