McCain in Baghdad

AP/Washington Post:

Sen. John McCain, the Republican Party's presumptive nominee for president who has linked his political future to U.S. success in Iraq, was in Baghdad on Sunday for meetings with Iraqi and U.S. diplomatic and military officials, a U.S. government official said.

Details of McCain's visit were not being released for security reasons, the U.S. embassy said.

McCain's visit was not announced and he was believed to have been in the country for several hours before reporters were able to confirm his arrival. It was unclear who he met with and no media opportunities or news conferences were planned.

McCain, a strong supporter of the U.S. military mission in Iraq, is believed to be staying in the country for about 24 hours.

"Senator McCain is in Iraq and will be meeting with Iraqi and U.S. officials," said Mirembe Nantongo, spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

This is his eighth visit to Iraq. He's accompanied by Sens. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. Before leaving McCain said his trip to the Middle East and Europe was a fact-finding venture, not a campaign photo opportunity.

The senator last met with Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki last November during the Thanksgiving holiday.

McCain was to meet Sunday with Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh. Later in the day, he and Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq, were planning to talk. It was also thought McCain would meet with al-Maliki.

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The visit make sense. The war has become one of his chief assets in this year's campaign. It is what sets him apart from his Democrat rivals and he has been proven right on the issue of the surge a year ago. He can correctly say that if we followed the policies backed by Clinton and Obama we would have lost Iraq to al Qaeda. The people he is meeting with have to be rooting for his success whether they can say so or not.