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USA Today, 28 April 2016

Vice President Biden made a surprise visit to Iraq Thursday for what aides described as an effort to nurture the Iraqi government and build momentum for the fight against the Islamic State.

Wearing his trademark aviator sunglasses, Biden stepped off a C-17 military transport plane at Baghdad International Airport, shook hands with U.S. Ambassador Stuart Jones and saluted Army Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland, who commands the Operation Inherent Resolve mission against the terrorist group in Iraq and Syria. He's scheduled to meet with government leaders.

Biden has been Obama's point man on Iraq since the beginning of the administration. His trip to Iraq, which was not previously disclosed, is his first since 2011.

The Obama administration announced this month it would send 200 more troops — with Apache helicopters and rocket artillery — to aid in the fight in Iraq. That's in addition to 250 troops promised for the Syrian theater on Monday.

His arrival coincides with a reshuffling of Iraq's cabinet posts in response to protests in Baghdad over the slow pace of anti-corruption reforms. The protests have distracted Iraq's attention from the war against the Islamic State, even prompting the government to temporarily withdraw troops from the front line to provide security in the nation's capital.

The Vice President's office said he would also visit with diplomats and military personnel while in Iraq.