Travels to Iraq

Kerry arrives in Baghdad for talks on forming a coalition to fight ISIS. He is due to meet with Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi, who is a Shiite, President Fuad Masum, a Kurd, and Salim al-Jubouri, the Sunni speaker of Parliament. A senior State Department official traveling with Kerry says the new inclusive government – which the U.S. has insisted on in exchange for military support against ISIS – will play a ‘critical role’ in the effort to ‘degrade and ultimately eventually defeat’ the group. Kerry says progress has been made, but offers no details:

We are very encouraged.