U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates made an unannounced visit to Iraq on Wednesday to assess the progress that has been made in recent months since the buildup of U.S. forces began to take hold and reduce violence in some parts of the country. Making his sixth trip to the battlefront in a year, Gates planned to talk to Gen. David Petraeus, the top military commander in Iraq, and also meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. He was last in Iraq around Labor Day, in a joint surprise visit with U.S. President George W. Bush. «Secretary Gates is here to see for himself the considerable progress that has been made since his last visit nearly three months ago now, just before Gen. Petraeus offered his assessment of the situation to the American people,» said Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell, who is traveling with Gates. Morrell was quoted as saying by the Associated Press that Gates wants to «get their take on the situation and to see what more they can do to capitalize on the gains that have been made since the surge of U.S. forces in Iraq.»
