Cheney makes surprise visit to Iraq ( Utilizing the 'Last Throws' of his credibility ?)

US Vice-President Dick Cheney has made an unannounced visit to Iraq - his first since the 2003 US-led invasion. Mr Cheney praised Iraq's "tremendous" elections last week and was described by President Jalal Talabani as a "hero for liberating Iraq".



The visit was kept so secret that it is thought even the Talabani as a "hero for liberating Iraq".

Iraqi prime minister was not told beforehand. As one of the main advocates of the Iraq war, Mr Cheney has come under constant criticism by opponents. The trip - Mr Cheney's first since 1991 when he was defence minister in George Bush senior's administration - came on the same day that President George W Bush was to give a prime-time address on Iraq.

The vice-president flew around the Baghdad area in a pack of eight fast-moving Blackhawk helicopters with guns mounted on the sides, the Associated Press news agency reports.

It has been a difficult few months for the vice-president, culminating in the five criminal charges filed against his chief of staff Lewis Libby over the investigation into the leak of the name of CIA agent Valerie Plame.

Add to that Mr Cheney's recent humiliating failure to stop the Senate passing new guidelines for the treatment of detainees - and the vice-president no longer looks all-powerful.

Even the Democrats see him as a weakness worth exploiting, with Senate minority leader Harry Reid saying the vice-president was involved in the "manipulation of intelligence to sell the war in Iraq" and that America could do better.

This is Mr Cheney's first visit to Iraq since the war began ....