A series of bomb blasts greeted US Vice President Dick Cheney's high-security and secrecy-shrouded visit to Baghdad on Monday. But Cheney declared Washington's “unwavering” support for Iraq during his surprise visit to Baghdad just days before the war enters its sixth year. The blasts underscore the deadly violence that still grips the nation five years after US bombs began dropping on Baghdad. Cheney, on a visit aimed at highlighting security gains and promoting political progress, said he had been sent by President George W. Bush to thank Iraqi leaders for their efforts in steering the country towards democracy. He was in Baghdad, he added, to “reaffirm to the Iraqi people the unwavering commitment of the United States to support them in finishing the difficult work that lies ahead.” “It's especially significant I think to be able to return this week as we mark the fifth anniversary of the beginning of the campaign that liberated the people of Iraq from Saddam Hussein's tyranny and launched them on the difficult but historic road to democracy,” Cheney said after meeting Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki. In a separate mission, US Republican presidential hopeful John McCain was meeting Iraqi leaders and US military officials to assess the success of the “surge” strategy that deployed more soldiers to Iraq, his aides said. Maliki said visits by US officials are crucial to helping achieve success in Iraq and in the US-led “war on terror”. “These visits really cement and support the relationship between the two countries... the success that we achieve in Iraq against terrorism and in the war against terrorism which is a global war,” Maliki said. Cheney also held talks with the top US commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, and US ambassador Ryan Crocker and was also meeting with other senior Iraqi political figures, including President Jalal Talabani. Soon after his arrival, three explosions rocked Baghdad, including a car bombing in the central neighborhood of Karada that killed three people. A security official said one of the other blasts was caused by a mortar attack on the highly-fortified Green Zone, home of the US embassy and the seat of Iraqi government, while a road bomb killed a policeman. Cheney's visit is the first stop on a nine-day tour of the Mideast and beyond, with scheduled landings in Oman, Saudi Arabia, Israel and the West Bank, and Turkey. A senior administration official told reporters accompanying Cheney that the vice president would tell the Iraqis “they need to continue to show some progress” on legislation seen as key to defusing sectarian strife. The laws include an oil-revenue sharing measure; setting out provincial government powers; and one covering elections that the US official said were expected to take place Oct. 1. __
