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Obama, Biden meet with Iraqi VP
Washington (AFP) Feb 1, 2010 President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden met Monday with Iraq's Sunni Vice President, Tariq al-Hashimi, and discussed the importance of Iraq's general election in March, the White House said. Eight days after Biden visited Iraq at Obama's request, the three leaders "discussed political and economic developments within Iraq, the importance of transparent elections with broad participation, and Iraqi refugees," a White House statement said. The meeting was originally scheduled between Hashimi and Biden, but "President Obama joined the discussion," it added. Hashimi's Sunni community in Iraq is facing a political crisis regarding the upcoming legislative vote since 511 of its candidates have been struck from the lists for being members or supporters of former dictator Saddam Hussein's Baath party. The ban has angered the Sunni community and threatens to undermine Washington's reconciliation efforts in Iraq that are crucial to a pullout of US combat troops in August and a complete military withdrawal in 2011. After Biden's January 23 visit to Iraq, 59 Sunni candidates were returned to the electoral list, but the country is still in the grips of denominational violence. On Monday, a female suicide bomber killed 41 Shiite pilgrims in Baghdad in an attack the Iraqi government blamed on the Baath party and Al-Qaeda. Hashimi is one of two vice presidents in the Iraqi government. The other one is a Shiite. On Tuesday afternoon, Hashimi is scheduled to meet with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
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